Finding You
by PurpleMoonMonster
Summary: She was supposed to find out who he was, but instead he found out who she was. Marinette feels horrified and exposed, and Adrien feels cheated out of the opportunity to be able to have gotten to know her sooner. Now they're in college and Marinette is in Intern at Agreste Designs. And while Adrien pulls her close, she keeps looking for Chat Noir. (M for later Chapters) (AU)
1. Chapter 1

**8/3/2018 Update- just did a couple of grammar and structure-related editing.**

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 **Chapter 1: Mask Games  
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 _Marinette's Room_

Carefully, she sewed the hem of the dress, counting perhaps a couple of stitches before she'd finish.

 _Little longer_ …

It was finally time, and she couldn't be more excited.

 _10, 9, 8_ …

Marinette put the needle down, along with her thread and pin cushion. She aired out her finished dress and stood up to look at her newly created masterpiece. Weeks of hard work had brought her to the moment where she could truly admire one of her finest works. She had started the dress as a way to pan out her collection, but it now had a new purpose, as the last few weeks of school followed along. Her dress was now going to have it's debut in the Agreste Ball, tonight.

It had come as a complete surprise to Marinette when she had received an invitation. According to the woman passing them out to all of the upperclassmen, it was meant as an honest-to-God party to say goodbye to all their years of hard work, and to welcome the years to come. Marinette still felt weird about it. It made sense to her that Adrien would invite everyone in his class, but it had spilled over to Marinette's. She could only guess it had to do with his long standing best friend, Nino. Nino is also Alya's long-time crush. Something about his music being an inspiration to this generation. Nonetheless, she was happy to have been given permission to attend. She'd only seen Adrien in the hallways, surrounded by his classmates or his group of friends. It didn't help, either, that he was an internationally recognized model for his father's clothing line. She just knew him as a fellow, albeit famous, classmate.

There were also rumors going around that even though the ball was intended for their classmates, it also served as a way to introduce Adrien into the world of fashion, as the official heir to Gabriel Agreste's brand. Everyone knew that reporters would be flooding the venue, with questions of the next move for the famous heir. Including which University he planned to attend, if any.

"Are you finally done?" Alya spoke, jolting Marinette out of the deep recesses of her mind.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that!" Marinette fiddled around for a moment before pulling the finished gown for the world (Alya) to see. A small gasp spread throughout the room as Alya descended the stairs, as quickly as she had popped back into existence.

Simply put the dress was gorgeous. It was a soft red and black, high-illusion-collar gown, with a high-low hem, that Marinette had designed to start near her knees and then down to her ankles, creating the illusion of wings on the back. The skirt was red satin in the bottom and sheer glitter fabric that gave the dress motion, with small crystal flowers etched in a dispersion pattern. The top was satin, as well, with the illusion being a very soft beige, to match Marinette's skin color, and red lace patterns. It had no sleeves.

"I am at a complete loss for words, Mari. It's gorgeous," Alya sighed astonished, unable to contain her excitement for her friend's skills.

"Thank you. I have your dress ready as well," Marinette smiled, pulling out a gown that was expertly wrapped just for her friend. Alya almost exploded with joy.

It was a fox-inspired, white cotton (for breathable reasons), mermaid-draped dress, strapless with a sweetheart neck, and soft orange strokes at the hem. It had a matching shawl, with black extremities, like a fox's tail. It was a small side-project she had started when the invitations were given. It didn't have as many details, but it was still fun to do this for her bestie.

"HOLY SHIT MARI! For me?! Oh my god, how can I ever repay you for this?!"

"Oh no you don't. You know that I wanted to make your dress as well. Besides, I can't trust any other designer dress you would've chosen. I doubt they would have it custom tailored to you."

Alya squealed happily, "Oh Marinette. You deserve the universe. Thank you bestie!" She tackled her friend in a tight hug as they both started to scurry the room to start getting ready for the ball.

"Before we get started, what time does it say the party starts?" Marinette asked, unloading all her hair and make-up items on her desk, where she had placed two mirrors for her and Alya to use to get ready.

Alya checked her phone immediately, "Says eight o'clock. That's two hours to go fucking crazy. By the way, where are the masks?"

Marinette cracked a mischievous smile that reached her eyes, while pulling out a box with two masks wrapped nicely in tissue paper, "You honestly didn't think I'd forget, did you?" Marinette laughed, feeling on top of the world already. Alya squealed, taking what had to be hers, a fox-like mask, and clutching it to her chest.

Something about tonight was going to be really special, Marinette could just feel it.

 _Adrien's Room_

Adrien looked at himself in the mirror once more, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. His suit fit well, sure, and he looked well-dressed, but he hated the colors that were chosen for him. They had him dressed in a Agreste Purple suit with royal blue accents. His own personality was sacrificed in order to embrace the empire that would one day be his own.

It wasn't a bad suit. He looked sharp, and handsome, but the colors simply depressed him to no end. They screamed the personality of his father, cold and distant.

 _We can't let people forget where you come from_ , his father had told him when they were cutting the fabric. Like always, he wasn't given a choice.

"You alright, man? You look like winter came a little early." Nino came up to the mirror, to check himself out and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Not gonna lie, you kind of remind me of Periwinkle from that Fairy movie."

"Don't push it. I already don't like it." Adrien held back a groan. He decided in that moment that he would be caught dead before wearing the Agreste brand for the one night where his father had given him free reign. He had persisted for a masquerade ball and to be able to invite the school so he could have one last hoo-rah with them. It was the one time his father had let him.

"I can't do this, Nino. I'm not wearing this suit." Adrien paced towards his closet, where he had countless other, more acceptable suits, for the evening. He began looking for one that he had bought against his father's wishes.

"How come? And what are you looking for, it didn't come with an extra pair of wings, did it?" Nino chuckled.

"No, I'm looking for the dimension where you're actually funny," Adrien snapped back, smiling at the end so his friend would know he was just playing too. He took pride in his quick wit, and that there was a friend in this world that would understand it. It was the one thing he had left that his father couldn't reform. His hands roamed the confined space until he found what he was looking for. It was perfect. A black suit, with a black shirt, a neon green tie and handkerchief. His cuffs were also neon green.

"That's more like you. Though, I have to admit, I thought you'd wear _some_ white." Nino observed.

"I'll have to make due with what I've got," Adrien smiled, grabbing the final piece to his transformation on, above his eyes, the mask, "I wonder if father will recognize me wearing this stuff."

Not that he'd actually care, considering what tonight would mean. His very last taste of freedom until the old man gave him full power. He hated to think of it that way, but ever since his mom passed, his father ceased his kindness. It's like he died on the inside and let his autopilot control the rest of his life, and his son's life. He could still remember his mother and the sun she brought to the house. If only she hadn't gotten sick.

"You're his son, there's no way he won't be able to tell it's you. Besides, we don't have a lot of blond classmates." Nino pointed out, snapping Adrien out of his memories. He looked at himself in the mirror, fully dressed. He looked sharper, and kind of dangerous. But Nino was right, his blond hair stood out like a sore thumb.

Perhaps there was a way to cover it…

"I got it." Adrien quickly sprinted toward his bathroom.

A knock resounded on the other side of the door, "Monsieur Adrien, the gates have been opened, you are needed in the ballroom in no more than five minutes."

"We'll be out in a minute, Natalie," he yelled back, before returning to his friend with a container the size of his hands, "How about we make this night, a little more interesting."

Adrien opened the container and dipped his hands inside, feeling the night become risky as he pulled his hand out of the tub. It was black in color.

"Hair Dye."

 _The Ballroom in the Agreste Mansion: Marienette_

When Marinette and Alya stepped out of their car, the first thing they both noticed was the air of mystery that drowned the area. The night air tasted of complete chaos, the way only older teenagers could bring about chaos. Not only that, the whole place looked like it was right out of Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Marinette could tell, stylistically, that there was definitely a battle that went on during the whole decoration process.

"Girl, I am feeling like a queen! Everyone is giving us such praising looks!" Alya pointed out, her voice full of the same glee and freedom Mari felt. She was going to blame that feeling to the mask, since it helped make her feel unaccounted for in some weird way. She looked around to see what Alya was talking about and noticed the boys she was pointing out. They seemed to want to go up to them, but hesitated. It was almost as if they were too beautiful to talk to.

 _That's crazy talk_ , Marinette giggled to herself.

"Not gonna lie, I do too. I don't think I've ever felt this confident before." More people turned their heads to see the two girls walking in. Normally, she would've shied away, and try to hide at the sudden attention, but something in her was glowing. Something in her loved it.

"I'm really happy to hear that," Alya said sincerely, "But you have to admit, this place looks insane. I wonder why they decided on a masquerade party. There's so much _risk_."

Marinette laughed again, feeling the giddy feelings bubble up in her again. That was when Alya lifted her head and laughed with her friend, before looking at the distance and blushing. It surprised Marinette, as she had never seen her best friend blush at anything, or anyone, besides her own crush.

"Why are you blushing?"

"You don't see those two guys staring at us? They look so handsome, I wish I knew who they were."

Marinette followed her gaze and for first time in the night, she felt a delicious chill up her spine as blue locked with green. It was as if the world had disconnected around her and all she could focus on were his eyes. Those beautiful bright green eyes. She wanted to look at the rest of him, but the intensity was growing, and she felt her eyes hesitate to move. Was he smiling? Was she? After a couple of heartbeats her eyes moved to examine the rest of him. He wore a tailored black and neon green suit that made his eyes pop all that much more, and she could tell that underneath, he was pretty fit. She blushed at the dirty thought and buried it. The only other color was his pale skin. It was… nice. His mask and hair were also black, he reminded her of a black cat.

She was so absorbed in taking in his details that she almost didn't hear her enthusiastic best friend.

"Oh my god, they're walking towards us!"

 _Adrien_

When Adrien arrived at the ballroom, he was hit with the atmosphere of his fellow classmates. It was definitely chaotic tonight, and full of possibilities he had never before entertained. The best part was that practically no one recognized him. Even Chloe, who would always profess her love for him in the hallways in a very embarrassing fashion. The Hair Dye had accomplished what he wanted.

Anonymity.

He walked among his classmates, completely invisible to them. Nino was the only that could recognize him, considering that he had been in the room with him when he used the pearlish black stuff to color his hair. He promised not to give him away, and promised not to be obvious, keeping a friendly distance, as they would surely put two and two together much quicker. Then again, Adrien didn't think his classmates would really be able to tell. Not when there was so much alcohol in circulation.

He quickly became amused whenever they'd come up to him, asking who he was and if he attended school with everyone. As he couldn't recognize his own classmates, and his classmates couldn't recognize his, he started a game to see who can recognize who. Winner gets a kiss. If they found out who he was, then he'd give them a full kiss. It wasn't long before he found himself practically tackled by everyone who approached him. He was told countless times that he resembled a black cat. With that, he went by the pseudonym, Chat Noir.

"Dude, I'd say this idea of yours was a hit. You've got all the girls squealing. And most of the guys praising you." Nino held his glass of wine up to meet Adrien's.

"Yeah, but it's starting to die on me a little. I should've upped the game from the start. Some of these girls are just a little desperate for my taste. You should've seen Chloe. She was hilarious. Never seen her dance that way before."

"Oh? Are you getting a soft spot for her?" Nino teased, knowing that it'd really end up nowhere. Adrien was a long-time friend of Chloe's but they had sort of fallen out of grace once he started attending public school like the rest of Paris.

"You know me better than that, Nino."

They continued like that for a while longer, bantering and talking about their classmates' reactions, as well as all the girls, and even some guys, trying to guess his identity for the kiss. Then suddenly, the atmosphere of his party changed. Even Nino had stopped talking and looked like he was floating in heaven. Adrien turned his head to the direction of Nino's, and everyone's, attention, and he couldn't help the small breathless moment that caught him.

There were two girls at the entrance, dressed in finely made dresses that would put his father to shame, no doubt. Dresses even Adrien could appreciate from the distance. He looked them up and down and then stopped.

It was in an instant, as his eyes caught hers in a free fall he couldn't stop. They shined brightly, like the ocean, delicately framed by a paste-on mask made of silk with red and black polka dots, matching the dress she wore perfectly. His eyes wanted to trail down to the rest of her, once more to appreciate, but… _those eyes._ Where had he seen them before?

"Woah man, I get their gorgeous, but fall back. You look like you're about to sprint towards them."

Without breaking eye contact, he said, "I… I honestly didn't even notice," he whispered, feeling weird as he truly didn't notice the stance he had taken. He knew then that this girl was something else, "I have to go introduce myself."

Just then her own friend broke the spell between them by snapping the blue-eyed, bluenette's attention for a single moment. Adrien felt a small loss but still continued in her direction. He had to shove some of the crowd aside to get to her, but when he did, something in him growled in approval by seeing her up close. There were freckles hiding under her mask, and her lips were wonderfully plumped. Her cheeks were tinted pink as the spell they cast over each other blossomed again with the eye contact. The next thing that hit him was her soft perfume. It wasn't anything you'd find in any of the fancy stores, but it fit her perfectly. It reminded him of a garden or a meadow.

"Hi." He breathed.

"H-Hello." She smiled, unsure of herself.

He was about to open his mouth to say his name but then remembered that he was trying to fool the whole class into guessing his identity tonight. He silently cursed himself for having made up such a game, because now she'd have to play also. Although, he could drop her hints maybe.

Taking her hand in his, he placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, never breaking the precious eye contact.

"What's your name, _Purr_ -incess?" He asked, loving the pun in his mind.

Her cheeks blushed a lovely shade of red at his words, and he reveled in the view of her. He wanted to kiss her in that moment but felt it was necessary to give her a good chance at winning this thing without pissing off everyone that's tried tonight. When she didn't answer right away, he had to wonder if she was awestruck as well, or also trying to hide behind the mask, as he was.

"You can give me a name you want me to call you, if you don't want it to be your real name. I understand the magic." He whispered, only to her. Reassuring himself that whatever she would give him would be enough to seek her out.

"Okay, then," she said more confidently, "Then I guess you can call me Ladybug."

He gifted her a smile, and her cheeks deepened to their lovely red color again, "Then, M'Lady, please call me Chat Noir. Would you like to join me for a dance? Or two?"

He winked at her to emphasize his desire to keep her close to him. She giggled, his heart leapt, and she nodded her head silently.

"I'd love to join you for a dance… Or two."

Without a moment's hesitation he pulled her away from the entrance and into the crowd, where their identities blended in the wind and absolutely everyone seemed to be masked strangers. Adrien could barely even tell where Nino and the other girl were.

 _(Infrared by Lucian, ft. Jordan Covey)_

Adrien was unsure of how to continue the small awkward pause to the dance floor, as the song changed. When they reached the middle, it didn't take his Ladybug long to twirl into action under his hands. He watched her closely, and he saw the illusion she had in the back of her dress and understood that the pseudonym she made for herself fit like a glove. She dipped when the song dipped in the beat, nearly driving him over the edge and she slowly came up like some sort of mistress of the night.

 _No, no that's not a good thought for her._ Adrien corrected in his mind, blushing slightly as an image tried to conjure into his mind.

She smiled at him, as if she knew what his mind was doing. He tightened his grip on her and danced with her to the eclectic rhythm. They moved in unison, stepping in the perfect spot at the perfect time. He hadn't realized that as the song continued, the people around them were as awed by them as he was. Staring at them as they danced in a space that kept growing for them. And for the first time ever, Adrien found himself not wanting to escape the spotlight.

"There's a game we're playing if you're willing to participate." Adrien said, at last. Seeing as the only way he'd probably ever see her again is if she'd know his identity.

"Oh? Is it a fun game?" She chuckled, and his bones danced.

"That depends, M'Lady, if you're interested in finding out who is dancing with you tonight."

She looked around, finally realizing the scene they both caused. Her cheeks blushed and she looked back at him. Their eyes connected and it felt like she was looking into his soul.

"What's the prize?" She asked breathlessly.

That's when Adrien realized how close he had pulled her to him. He could almost count the freckles in her face, and the lines in her iris. She was so close, and he just had to lean in for a small taste of her.

"A kiss."

 _Yeah you, laid me in that glow, yeah you, you came to my lips, Yeah you..._

 _Marienette_

Marinette almost forgot to breath in that moment. Her breath rested below her lungs and she stared into his eyes. She couldn't even hear the music anymore with her blood thundering through her ears. It was in this moment that she realized just how "risky" tonight was. Alya's choice of words, as always, were near perfect.

"I don't know if I want to play this game kitty." Her voice barely a whisper. No matter the outcome, she'd lose, for sure. And she wasn't sure if she was ready to kiss a complete stranger just yet.

A smile slowly stretched upon his beautiful features, and Marinette, once again, almost forgot how to breath. It was a lucky thing that he hadn't pushed her for her real name, because she was sure he would've lost immediate interest in her if he'd known who she was. Everyone at school already thought she was a clumsy fool, she didn't need that memory alive tonight.

"I purr-omise it won't be so hard with the hints I'll give you."

Marienette giggled again, feeling the girly laugh bubble up to meet the air with just how cute this guy was being. He really liked puns, so that already cut half of the guesses in half. But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. He'd said he'd give her _hints_.

"You want to kiss me so badly, chaton?"

If possible, his smile stretched further, giving his eyes a mischievous glint. He didn't need to give her an answer with that kind of expression. It was clear as day that he felt as pulled by her as she felt by him. It was odd. She felt like she should know who he was, considering everyone here was from school, so there was no way she couldn't know who he was.

She looked into his eyes again, searching. Those eyes. They were so familiar but she's never seen them so close. His hair was black as night and his features were definitely well-defined under the mask. Almost flawless.

"What's my first hint?"

He twirled her around and held her close again, and she realized that he had danced them a ways away from the onlooking crowd.

"My eyes, why of course."

"Not fair, Chaton, I've already been studying them."

Another twirl and this time the area around them had become somewhat secluded. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but she could tell that they were in the cusp of something important in this 5-minute relationship they set up for themselves. The next couple of songs were spent in silence as they both danced and stared into each others' eyes, memorizing what they could.

It wasn't until the party began thinning out that they even realized that their time together would come to an end. She had voiced a couple of guesses, seeing that the process of elimination would probably help her faster than anything else. He denied them all.

"I should be going home soon," she finally said, already looking around the room to look for her friend, whom she was sure was too busy to remember she even had a friend.

"No, wait… I can give you another hint."

His voiced pushed in the direction of desperation. Marinette, once again, looked into his eyes. Really studying them. A beautiful grass-green, like a meadow in sunlight.

"I hope it's an easier one." she teased.

"This isn't my real hair color."

She blinked. Lifting her hand to his hair and rubbing it with her palm. Sure enough, it almost came off and she could see a brighter color underneath.

"So that's how you've fooled people into guessing away. Tsk, tsk, minou. You are not as good as I thought you'd be."

He chuckled, and it rang through her body, "Forgive me for being a little bad. Does it make it easier to know who I am?"

He looked at her with hopeful eye but she felt distraught. Even with continuous rubbing she couldn't exactly guess correctly. The lights in the party didn't help and she was running out of time. She tried to really think of everyone that went to their school, and started to wonder if he even attended with her or not. Adrien could've very well invited all of Paris to this event. She flipped through her mind furiously, until a name kept popping up.

"Are you A-"

"Mari!" Alya yelled, grabbing her friend, and jilting her out of the small space they had cocooned themselves in.

"A-Alya!"

"Mari, oh my goodness, we got to go. I have so much to tell you and- oh…" Alya then noticed Chat looming over them, with his eyes wide in sudden alertness, and Marinette realized that her own gig was up. He'd heard her real name.

"I… I can explain…" She whispered. Blushing uncontrollably now, and feeling her own persona creep out from under the mask. Without wanting to she was unmasked before him.

"Are… Are you the Dupain-Cheng girl?" his voice sounded weird to her ears. She wasn't sure if he was disappointed or just surprised. Alya stood beside her silently, for once, and taking it all in herself. Marinette just wanted to hide and die. She released herself from his arms, took Alya's hand, and ran out of there as fast as she could.

 _Adrien_

Startled, he watched Mari Dupain-Cheng leave just as quickly as she had arrived. Their conversation felt so short, and un-lived that Adrien felt cheated. He remembered her now, though. Recognized her for who she was. She was the daughter of the famous baker, that lived near the school. He had seen her in the hallways but never up close.

He wondered, for a brief moment after she left, if he would've had the same reaction to her eyes if he'd only looked into them before. They had a power in them that he couldn't explain, and he truly did feel like he lost something by noticing them now. When they were just about to leave for University. Adrien inwardly cursed himself for never noticing her before and felt like an idiot for ever starting the little game when he could've just found her sooner.

"Dude, you look like shit. Are you alright?"

"No, Nino, I just found out I missed something really good, like the dumb ass I am."

"You mean the beauty that was wrapping you around her finger all night? Did you find out who she was?"

Adrien looked up and Nino, "Did you find out who you were dancing with all night?"

It was Nino's turn to take on a Chat-like persona, riddled with the mischievous grin and a glint in his eyes. "None other than Alya Césaire, my friend. Kissed her and everything."

"Seriously? Dammit, you've had your eye on her all damn year. Ugh..."

If only he had taken notice when Nino did he might've seen the Dupain-Cheng girl. Mari Dupain-Cheng. He knew her name was longer, because of the couple of times she had participated in his father's designer competitions, but he couldn't remember for the life of him.

"Let me guess, you were with Marinette just now?"

 _Nino, you fucking blessing,_ Adrien sighed. _  
_

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 **Hi Everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If not, let me know. Tear it up!**

 **This is my first fan-fiction ever, so honestly, if you see me doing something sideways, I'd really like to know.**

 **Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Guys,**

 **Sorry this took a while. I'm going to try and upload every Wednesday from now on.**

 **Thank you to those who decided to favorite and follow this story. Thank you all for the support. I can't name all of you, but you know who you are.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 _Marinette's Room: Marinette_

Marinette looked at herself in the mirror, examining her outfit from top to bottom. With her pincushion, needle and thread in hand, once again, as she quickly closed any openings she might've left open during the making of her skirt. She knew that for her first day at her prestigious internship, she had to be absolute perfection. Besides, what better way to impress the boss than being able to say that she had made everything from the earrings to the skirt?

 _Well, not the shoes. I'm not there yet._ Marinette giggled. Her eyes trailed to her master piece. Her mind wandered to that night, that beautiful night filled with fields of green, and she

Smiled. She could still see his smile in her dreams and the delicious tingle up her spine whenever he looked at her. He almost kissed her, she was sure of it.

 _If only he hadn't figured out who I was. He probably would've wanted to look for me._ Marinette frowned. She had spent her last week before her big trip with her parents fretting about it, looking for him wherever she could think. It was useless, and it bore no fruit.

Shaking her head, Marinette went back to her mirror and examined herself once more. She delighted in her red pencil skirt with classic t-strap pumps, a classic white button-up blouse, a pair of daisy flower stud earrings and a chunky flower necklace to complete a chic look for her first day as an intern. She even put her hair up in a stylistically-made, messy bun, so it'd still be business worthy, while maintaining her air of profession.

 _Good lord, I just need glasses and I look like some business version of a hipster. Actually... I'd probably look cute as fuck,_ Marinette smiled, looking for a pair of decorative glasses. Her mind unwillingly wandered back to three months ago.

She had reacted horribly with her parents, acting like some brat for not letting her stay behind and look for a boy whose name she didn't even know. Even thinking about her reaction made her want to crawl under her skin. Seriously, she could've handled that situation so much better, and had it not been for Alya's counter-reaction she probably would have elongated the embarrassing display.

" _Seriously bitch? Should I remind you how it's been, hmm, I don't know, A WEEK since the ball and let's see. No phone calls from unknown callers, no letters, no gossip, not even a small wind of hope coming your way to flesh out your sails of desperation."_

" _But Alya, maybe he needs help finding me, maybe if I press the right people he'll find me too." Marinette grabbed Alya's shoulder full of desperate hope._

" _Uh-nuh. No, I don't think you're thinking about this at all. If I were you, I'd forget about him. You know what, if it took a guy more than a week to find you, especially with how_ small _the school is, then you shouldn't be concerned. He knows your name and he knows who was in your class."_

" _T-That's only a-assuming that he_ w-was _in our school." Marinette stumbled through her words, while her mind raced._

" _Then exactly how do you explain how he knew you the moment I called you 'Mari'? How did he only need your nickname to know who you were? You need to think about this, girl. In another time. In another place. Go with your family and have_ fun _. Shit, you're going to China for three months! That should elate you!"_

But Marinette wasn't elated at the time. She had sulked her whole way to China, which only served to make her parents feel bad. Marinette swore to herself never to forgive herself for letting her parents think that the trip was for naught. If it weren't for the trip, she would have never met the people she did, or experience the wonderful experiences she had. The festivals on the streets. The myriad of colors and new flavors of a culture that truly belonged in her family. She had even ended up helping her Uncle out with a couple of designs for the restaurant he owns. It was an amazing experience, and it was one that had helped her land the internship with Agreste Designs when she landed back in France.

Marinette checked the time, back in the present moment, and gasped, "Shit! I'm going to be late!"

She ran down her hatch and kissed her parents good-bye. She was running through the streets of Paris when her phone rang.

It was an unknown caller.

 _Agreste Designs Office Building : Adrien_

Adrien walked into his office, took one long look as he placed his bag down, and decided he was going to need coffee immediately and an aspirin by noon. The small pile of paper that was on his desk last night had children, and it's children had children. He groaned inwardly.

He has officially been working in his father's company for over three months now, and had a huge wake-up call about his father's business when he arrived the first day. His father wasn't just a fashion designer, he was owner of multiple stores, smaller side-businesses that catered to lower forms of fashion, and even a couple of jewelry and accessories stores, all internationally. A pile of contracts with department stores all across the world and connections he could've never understood. It almost made him want to forget how negligent his father was towards him after his mom passed, but, at the same time, still couldn't find himself strong enough to do so. He _was_ happy he was able to help his father with at least a small portion of the company, relieving his father of a couple of stresses, but the man was still cold as stone towards him, if not more.

Then there was the whole Marinette Dupain-Cheng business.

 _It's not like she's a contract, you need to watch your words Adrien_ , he groaned, while fixing his desk to make the work that much easier.

He had thought about her. Every. Single. Day. Since the Ball. He had gone to look for her, but chickened out every time he got to the bakery door. And then things got worse when two weeks after the ball, he was informed that she was on a long trip with her parents to lord-knows-where for however amount of time they pleased. The skeleton crew left behind only knew that were going on a trip. And then Nino was of no help with his new, official girlfriend, Alya, who seemed to be pretty tight-lipped about her friend and even called it suspicious that he'd ask so many questions and wouldn't say who they were from.

There was no way he was going to let her find out who he was by word of mouth. He needed to tell her face-to-face.

Adrien had stopped asking after the first month, and began to focus, as much as he could, on the work he was given. Still, it was stressful as fuck, and he low-key wished he never expressed an interest in taking over the company. He was only 19 for Pete's sake. He didn't need this level of stress.

 _Let me get that coffee now, before the line gets horrendously long_ , Adrien told himself, standing up to fix the cuffs of his well-tucked black button-up shirt; loosening them to take some stress of his wrists. They were going to suffer today, might as well let them breath. He opened the door to his office, to where his temporary assistant, Tikkie, sat, working just as diligently as he planned to, once he grabbed that coffee.

"Anything new to report today?" Adrien asked, knowing that asking that would only dig himself a bigger hole, but fuck it.

"You didn't see the pile of work there, Lil' Agreste?" Tikkie smiled, twirling her fiery red hair and batting her large midnight-blue eyes at him. Adrien cringed hard enough for the whole office to notice. He _hated_ the nickname his father's employees had came up for him on his first day. They knew he hated it. Thus only used it when his father wasn't around.

"I only ask cause I need to know if the pile is planning of getting any bigger." Adrien huffed, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"Not today, Lil' Agreste. I believe that's what we got so far from the stores. However, Sierra did inform us that she'll have the financial report from her store no later than noon. Also, we have a new intern today, so she might be able to help with some of the paperwork. It's a great place to start her, I'd say." Tikke smiled, her eyes with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes.

"We have an intern? My father didn't mention any new interns to me." Adrien frowned.

 _Not that he'd mention anything to me, since I'm basically an intern myself._ He looked around the office to see if there were any new faces.

"Of course not, silly. You can't be in charge of an intern _your_ age. I know I am acting as a temporary assistant to you, but I have worked here long enough to know how to work the interns. She brought coffee for everyone this morning, by the way, if you're looking for a cup. Called her before the office opened."

"Are we really? Coffee run from the intern?" Adrien chuckled, crossing his arm together while hiding his face so no one could see his true reaction.

"Oh shush now, Lil' Agreste. The coffee machine was acting wonky so I had a repair man look at it. I promise I didn't do it on purpose." She batted her eyes at him again and Adrien could feel Tikkie planning something she shouldn't be. It sent shivers down his spine, and not the good kind.

"Okay, fine. What's this intern's name?" Adrien sighed, defeated.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And she's got quite the rap sheet!"

Adrien's heart nearly stopped.

"You should've seen her at the interview last week. She was simply a little goddess. We might start calling her Lil' Goddess," Tikkie laughed, jabbing Adrien's nerves, "But in all honesty, she has wonderful potential in the company. Your father was adamant in keeping her, and even spoke of her in future tense! She's also quite talented, you should take a look at her designs! Too bad she's too young to be a designer in the company, your father could really use her kind of skills."

The more Tikkie described, the more Adrien felt his heart palpitate.

"Ah Marinette! Perfect timing. Are you too busy?"

Adrien's neck nearly snapped from how quickly he turned his head. His eyes immediately focused on the petite female walking toward them, balancing two coffee cup holders. They traveled back up to see her eyes encased by a dazzling smile and her hair in a different style than what he remembered. It was doing things to his body that he couldn't truly explain without sounding like Romeo. He traced her with his eyes, taking in her face shape without the mask on, and how she had dressed.

He was so focused in drinking her presence that he hadn't even realized that they were speaking to him.

"A-Adrie-en," Tikkie called, "Are you alive?"

"W-What just... what?" Adrien stuttered.

"I was introducing you, Mr. Acting Manager. Marinette brought you coffee as well, if you're interested."

 _You have no clue how interested._ "Uhm… Y-Yes. Yes, please. Thank you." Adrien grabbed the cup and smiled.

 _Marinette_

"So… Marinette. Can I just call you Mari? I think it suits you so much better." Tikkie smiled, brightly. Her real name was Anna, but she had strictly told Marinette not to call her that, and provided her with the nickname she preferred.

The whole morning was proving to be quite the trip. She had received a call from Tikkie saying the office needed coffee, _desperately_. If not for her initial heart attack, she might've not needed to wrap the coffees down to the cup holders. It was a total mess the first time, and she almost ruined her clothes. She was grateful the only mark of the incident was her skinned knee, which was significantly easier to hide than coffee stains on a white shirt.

"Either is fine," Marinette smiled, "Nice to meet you Mr. Agreste." She held her hand out to him, which he took hesitantly. She took that moment to assess him, noticing his dark clothes. And his eyes. Those green-grass eyes.

"Please, call m-me Adrien." He smiled, looking rather pink. He ripped away eye contact with her, and she concluded that he might not be feeling alright.

"O-kay. Adrien. Are you sure you're okay? You look feverish." Marinette reached with her other hand to touch his forehead but he damn near slammed his head in the wall behind him with how quick he stepped away.

"Y-YEAH. Y-yes. I'm good. Yeah, just… uh... Darn... black. Clothes. Amiright?" Even his voice was high-pitched. She almost couldn't believe his reaction with how calm and collected he always seemed in school. In fact, he always seemed pretty chill back in school.

 _I guess people can't trust what they see in the surface._ She smiled, taking in the moment, concluding that he was a nervous person after all. Marinette then turned to see Tikkie on the edge of exploding with emotion, she wasn't sure was elation or concentration. Was this whole office not okay?

"So, Mari, Adrien here was so childishly complaining about how much work he has, and I was telling him he could abuse his powers and make you work. What do you think?"

Should she laugh or gasp, "A-Are you serious?"

"Tikkie-" Adrien started.

"Dead-ass. We can't trust our little man here to make-"

"Tikkie," he stopped her, his voice sounding more authoritative, "That's _not_ the way that conversation went. What I do recall was you explaining that we have an intern in the first place."

Tikkie only smiled brightly, and batted her eyes at him, as if she could do no wrong, "Oh come on now Lil'-"

"TIKKIE," he stopped her, and then turned to Marinette with a face beet-red, "Marinette your first _official_ task can be helping me with the financial reports. Are you up for the task?"

 _So this is Adrien Agreste._ Marinette laughed inwardly. It actually took all her willpower not to laugh and enjoy this moment.

"Sure, no problem. I'll just put these coffees in the break room and be right back." Marinette smiled, walking away and waving to them. Once she a couple of steps away, Marinette could hear Adrien's voice almost hissing to Tikkie, and Tikkie laughing at whatever he hissed about. It made Marinette wonder how office politics played out, here, when Tikkie and Adrien gave it such a lax attitude.

When she returned, it was all smiles and chuckles as she and Adrien entered his office.

"Keep the door open, I need to know when Tikkie is planning a sneak attack." Adrien requested, as he sat down in his dark gray office chair.

"Okay," Marinette chuckled, leaving the door open and grabbing a chair to join him in a section of his desk. Silence pursued them as they started on the task at hand. Marinette took a small moment to look around and take it all in. It was a nice office, sized well for someone who was in charge, but the colors were pretty dreary. Then again, she was used to the brightness of pink in her room, and all the colors she'd used in fabrics. The color scheme here was definitely gray and purple. Good colors following company protocol, but Marinette noticed how out-of-place Adrien seemed to be in all of it.

That's when her designer mind turned on. Ignoring the task at hand, she started to formulate in her mind what kind of color scheme did work for Adrien. His hair was very bright, like the summer sun at noon. So she imagined his desk and shelves being made out of tinted wood, instead of metal. She could see some splashes of green and the same books, some photographs of summer and spring instead of the magazine cover pieces her had. Maybe a collage of different flowers of different colors instead of the white roses near that entrance. She could see him using the same computer, but with a green mouse pad, instead of gray purple one. And he seemed like a dog person, maybe. Or just pets in general. Some sort of animal friend.

 _What about a cat?_ Marinette thought. Her mind was beginning to go elsewhere, and she was almost unable to stop the face and feelings of someone else entirely different than who was in front of her. She could see his eyes and his black hair, that wasn't his own. She started imagining him everywhere.

"Marinette?" he called, forcing herself out of her mind.

"Y-Yes?" she asked, blushing from the embarrassment of being caught.

"Y-You spaced out on m-me there," he explained, a blush coloring his cheeks as well, "Is everything alright?"

 _Kill me now lord,_ she gulped, "N-No. No, everything is good. Yeah, no. Uhm," _please don't fire me already,_ "I was j-just taking in the view."

He chuckled, "I get it, financial reports are boring."

"N-No! Oh my goodness, please no. I just, I was looking at the office and kind of realized that it doesn't suit you. NOT LIKE THAT. Like… Like the color scheme. Doesn't suit. You," _Why am I not dead yet? Is this a dream? I really hope this is a dream._ Marinette panicked.

 _Adrien_

 _Oh god, please let this be a dream,_ Adrien pleaded to any of the Gods above, as he watched Marinette fumble on herself. She was cuter than he remembered and his regret in not having the opportunity to get to know her sooner only stabbed his heart further. He smiled, however, with the warmth of getting know her now. On her first day of an internship in his father's company. His office. Here. With him.

"Explain. I'd love to see what you're thinking" he told her calmly. Hoping that would ease her nerves. However, his attempt was futile.

"I-I… I… Iwasthinkinghowsummersuitsyoubetterthanthecolorsthatyou'resurroundedwith,somymindwentintdesigner-modeandIcan'tstopitwhenitgoestheresoitlookslikeIspacedoutbutI'mreallyjustredesigningyourofficeinmyhead." When she finished, she huffed, her eyes dizzy without breath.

Adrien sat there, completely transfixed in just how hilarious her end-reaction was. He couldn't hold his laughter long enough, so he bursted with it, filling the sound of the office around them and beyond.

It was so loud, that even Tikkie had to peak in to see what was going on.

"What happened here? It hasn't even been 15 minutes!" She exclaimed, checking her wrist watch.

"Just… hahaha… Nothing serious. Hahaha." He waved her away, laughing still.

"I… I think I broke Adrien." Marinette explained in a taut voice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Getting to Know You _  
_**

* * *

 _Marinette_

"Alya, you really should've been there. I wanted to die, but the Gods didn't accept my sacrifice. I'm not worthy with such embarrassment. Two Queens." Marinette groaned, slapping the cards down on the carpet floor.

"Jesus, woman, it sounds embarrassing. What happened afterwards though? Did he like cast you out of fashion society forever? One King." Alya slapped down her own cards, and looked up, while taking a sip of wine from her glass. Marinette contemplated for a moment, checking her deck of cards to see if it was possible her friend had a king to spare in the first place.

"Bullshit… Take that ye lyin' imporstorrr," Marinette laughed, watching as Alya took the small pile of cards after revealing her King was actually a Queen, "And no, nothing drastic. We tried making small talk, but it lead to nowhere. I ended up helping him with like three reports, and then spent the rest of the day scanning and filing for the company. Not a lot of who-ha, if you ask me."

"Fuck, I really thought I had you that time," Alya chuckled, reorganizing her deck, "So, nothing happened. I find that so hard to believe. If you ask me, the boy was nervous cause our little Mari is too beautiful for her own sake and he just happened to fall in love with her at first sight. But enough about you, tell me more about Adrien. Is he as hot up close as he is from afar, or is he a Monet?"

Marinette smiled, shaking her head as she concentrated on the memory she had of his looks. She couldn't remember much of his face, but she knew he was well-endowed in that department. What she did remember was his hair. It was such a bright yellow, that it practically competed with Tikkie's fire-hair.

"I can't say honestly. I didn't pay enough attention. Three Aces. I do remember his hair though." Marinette described, taking a sip from her own glass of wine and a bite from a small collection of pastries from her parent's bakery.

"Arg, that's not new. Everyone remembered him for his hair. I meant the man's face! His strong chin, his soft eyes, and eyebrows that make straight men jealous. Come on, Mari, you're like the Queen of Fashion, how can you not look at a _model's_ face? Two twos."

"One three. I don't know. I just didn't pay attention. And why is this so important to you? Aren't you with Nino now? _The_ Nino?" Marinette placed a hand on her chest and one in her heart as she said the last part, and then slapped her card down a little forcibly.

"Of course, I have _My Nino_ ," Alya blushed, looking away for a moment, looking at her deck shyly, "Don't make a huge deal out of it, but I'm pretty sure I love him, actually… Two f-"

Marinette grabbed Alya's hand before she could drop her cards, "Love? You're _pretty sure_ you _love_ him?! Alya! Did something happen between you guys?"

Alya blushed a deeper red, and Marinette's heart sang for her bestie, "We kind of… you know… Went all the way?"

Marinette shrieked in shock and glee, with Alya joining her shortly after, dropping all their cards and dancing around Marinette's room. They almost dropped the wine as well, and stopped before anything could spill.

"Ugh, look at us, like a pair of girly girls mooning over guys," Alya groaned jokingly.

"You're the one mooning over the guys! And come on, Alya, this is a real moment for you. Me, it's just a fleeting memory, so you've already got more than me. It's a bit soon but…"

"Three months is soon?"

Marinette looked at her friend, understanding where she was going with it. Marinette had no right to call three months "too soon" when she was still endlessly searching for a guy she fell in love with three months ago in the span of three hours.

"No I suppose it's not. I'm happy for you, bestie. I think Nino is a fine gentleman to you and he's already succeeding in making you happy, which works out well for him. And if he doesn't, I'll come kick his ass with a few moves my uncle taught me." Marinette said determined, attempting to show Alya a sample of said moves but falling on her butt while trying. They both laughed at her clumsiness.

"Oh, my Knight-in-shining-Mari," Alya put her hands in her heart, laughing, "But thank you. I knew I had a small crush on him back then, but, this emotion is just so much more different than a crush. He's so… different than what I thought he would be. In school he was always distant and kind of a dick unless it was about music. But I guess he was just defensive or something. Who knows. I look at him now though, and things are just, wonderful."

Marinette stared at Alya with happy tears on the edge of her eyelids. Alya turned to see Marinette and shoved her friend playfully, "No, bitch, oh my god, you're going to make me cry-y."

"I'm sorry, it's just I'm really happy for you. You found someone that makes you feel wonderful. That honestly calls for some sort of celebration."

Marinette lifted her glass, and so did Alya and they cheered, laughing at the little queer celebration. While they sat in silence afterward, they took that moment to fix the floor and spruce up their game space. They picked up their cards and Alya re-shuffled the deck. Marinette changed the song they were listening to and then relaxed on her carpeted floor.

"I can't believe we're starting college already. I'm sad that we'll be in separate schools." Alya commented, splitting the cards between them again.

"Random place to pick up the conversation, but I agree. I already gave Tikkie my schedule. It felt totally surreal."

"What's surreal is how far you'll be traveling just to get to class. Paris Fashion Institute is basically the other side of the city. What possessed you to choose a school so far from home."

"Hey, don't you dare condemn the PFI. I could've gone to New York. I still wish I could've gone to New York. Damn application system was a full-blown interrogation. Don't even get me started on getting a student visa."

"I remember. It got pretty invasive. You got the Ace of Clubs?"

"Yeah, here," Marinette showed Alya the card and placed it facing down, "I can't wait to start tomorrow. I wonder what class will be like. My first class is Public Speaking. Can you imagine?"

"Actually I can. Don't you remember your experience as Class President? That's still a bad-ass story. Three twos."

"Oh my goodness, I still can't believe how much courage I had that day. It was crazy. Two threes. And all because I was trying to impress a boy."

"Your unbreakable cycle. You know what, I'm going to wave a boy in your face until you graduate. You might even get out early." Alya laughed.

"Hey!" Marinette exclaimed, throwing her friend the pillow behind her.

 _Adrien_

"You don't understand, Nino. I just… I couldn't tell her. Don't get me wrong, I really tried. We kept making small talk throughout the day but I think I completely blew it by laughing at her." Adrien groaned, taking another sip from his beer. He looked over to his best friend, who was also partaking, and he pleaded for advice.

"I think it's good you didn't get to tell her. Can you imagine how awkward you would've made her first day as your _intern_?" Nino smiled, taking a sip from his own beer.

"Don't say she's _my_ intern, cause she's not. She's the company's intern. She's more like a colleague with how high in position I am myself. Like I said before, I'm practically an intern myself. I'm only acting manager until Plagg gets back from Miami. He arrives in like three days. Tikkie's been restless." Adrien sighed, looking into his glass of yellowish liquid.

"Dude, you got to relax. Maybe this is a golden chance to take it slow with her. Show her the real you. Make her forget your mask, and I'm sure she'll fall in love with you."

Adrien was about to respond but then looked over to his friend, and noticed how much he was glowing. It wasn't unlike Nino to give advice but the glow was new.

"What, man? Quit staring at me, it's freaking me out."

"Spoken like a man in love," Adrien said playfully, meaning to tease Nino for his new self. Instead of immediately coming back with a snarky remark, Nino simply blushed, surprising Adrien.

"You… Shut up. Take my advice o-or don't." He mumbled, taking another swig of beer.

"Woah, Nino, I didn't mean to press emotional buttons there. Did I offend you?" Adrien explained, patting Nino's shoulder.

Nino hesitated, looking around as if what he was about to reveal was a national secret to an ordinary citizen. Content with his surroundings he looked at Adrien shyly and simply smiled.

"No man, you're good. I'm good. I'm actually better than good, I'm feeling great. But I don't want to talk about it with you just yet. Let me help you with Marinette, and just trust that I'm in the right mind to help you."

Forget surprised,Adrien was completely floored with Nino's response. Immediately he knew that something had gone down with him and Alya. It _had_ to be something akin to that, or else his reaction would make zero sense. He was dying to ask him what exactly happened, but he simply nodded, respecting his friend's decision to keep a tight lip. He was, however, going to celebrate his friend for a minute.

"Bartender, please give us two shots of tequila. And don't play, Sean, the good stuff. Salt and Lemon too please."

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing? I won't be able to peacefully drink beer afterwards." Nino huffed, looking at Adrien as if he lost a nut or 100.

"You might not tell me what's happening with you, but I can tell it's good and I just want to celebrate that for a sec," he explained, taking the two tall shot glasses from the bartender's hands and placing one in front of Nino, "To good feelings."

"I'll kill you if I leave her fucked up. In fact, your dad will kill you if you leave here fucked up. Seriously though, I have class like at nine in the morning, this better not haunt me," Nino growled, lifting the shot glass to meet Adrien's and then taking a small sip, quickly followed by the salted lemon, "This is so un-French of us."

Adrien also took his sip, but skipped the lemon and salt, "I say fuck it. I'm nearly twenty and my father is no longer in charge of what I do all the time. Besides, it's one shot."

"Whatever, man. So what are you going to do about Marinette? I think you should play it slow and entice her by being yourself. Don't bring Chat Noir into it."

 _Except I am Chat Noir_ , Adrien sighed, looking up to the display of different alcohols behind the bartender. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and sing to her in every language he knew. Seeing her today was near-torture after having tried and failed to look for her months ago.

"To be honest, Nino, I don't think she'll be normal with me if I'm me. Me. Fucking Adrien _Agreste_. I don't think Marinette is the kind of person, but what if she ends up loving me for my connections instead? What if-"

"Stop. Just, no. Wow, I knew you were worried about something like this but you seriously underestimate Marinette. I remember her in class. She was always pretty level-headed and she treated everyone equally. I don't think that those standards won't apply to you _just_ because you're _Adrien Agreste_. Give her a chance. You say you love her, but you only know her name and her background, and what's worse, now you're accusing her of theoretically using you for her gain. Talk to her, man. Don't be such a little dick about it."

Adrien sat there silently for a while, letting Nino's words sink in and settle.

"I am being a dick about it, aren't I?"

"I'd fucking say. I can't believe you right now. Mari is not that kind of human. She's pretty amazing, actually."

Adrien felt a little weird that Nino was complimenting her so much, but he trusted his friend enough to know that he wasn't trying to blindside him either. He took the rest of the tequila shot, and slammed the glass on the counter. Nino watched, amazed and concerned.

"I don't know if it'll work, but I'll definitely give your advice a good knocking. We should get out of here before we get plastered."

"Mm, yes. Agreed." Nino drank the rest of his beer and followed Adrien outside. They talked for a bit, about school and other stuff, but Adrien felt too weird to really put any input into the conversation. They split up shortly, leaving Adrien to himself, and Nino to his future.

He sighed, before walking in the park surrounding the Eiffel Tower. The air had a mystified feeling to it, that he couldn't put into any words. Maybe it was because it was the beginning of the rest of his life, or maybe because he finally found Marinette, and had her in close quarters. Maybe, just maybe. It was because there was so much more to come.

 _Marinette_

She peaked her head up, and then shook it.

 _Nope, wrong number. Is this even the right building? Shit…_ Marinette twirled around, looking for a sign from above that she wasn't royally screwed on her first day of University. Looking at the piece of paper she saw the number 150 staring back at her. Walking down the hall and into a hidden courtyard, she twirled again.

 _There!_ She found the number hanging in a hidden corner, and she entered hastily. She made it _just_ in time. She settled down and pulled out her notepad, ready to take notes. The class was perfect for Public Speaking, with a stage for a front and an amphitheatre-type seating.

"Okay class, we're going to start today with the basics, and a bit of, let's just say re-cap on what you should already know. We also have a guest here today who will help put these things together for us, make sure we have a nice first day..."

Marinette excitedly took down notes.

"Is this your first year or something?" asked a girl next to her. Marinette looked up to see a girl with striking black and purple hair. Marinette looked her up and down and noticed just how pretty she was.

 _Damn, she could be a model!_ "Uh, yeah. Is it that noticeable?"

"Well let's just say not a lot of us do the whole notes thing after our first year. You're kind of short to be a model. I'm impressed." she smiled, looking at Marinette as if she wanted to pet her.

"Oh, no no, I'm no model. I'm a fashion design student."

The girl lifted an eyebrow in confusion, and was about to respond when the teacher spoke directly at them, "Ladies, ladies, just how interesting is your conversation to be so utterly rude? Now listen, I've got someone here with us who you all well know. He has helped the modelling world more than anyone, and has made quite the debut here. One of our own alumni students, Mr. Marcus Bertrand."

Everyone clapped, and one girl even stood up cheering him on. Marinette was instantly pleased, but was starting to feel weird about this class. It was like everything was about modelling. Has the term public speaking changed over the years?

"Thank you, thank you, everyone. I really am proud to say that I've come a long way since my start here. My parents were very reluctant to let me follow this dream of becoming a model, and it was really hard to convince them to support me. My main supporter was my grandmother who really saw my potential...-"

Marinette looked around before landing her eyes on the girl next to her, "This is a weird way to start a class on public speaking."

The girl turned to face Marinette, her eyebrow once again going upwards, "Public Speaking? This isn't public speaking, this is a modelling course. You know… For models?"

Marinette paled, "This… Isn't room 150?"

"The girl turned and checked the door, "No, yeah this is 150, are you sure you got the timing right?"

Marinette fumbled through her bag before grabbing her cellphone and shooting her way through the school website to locate her schedule. After a couple of panicked clicks she noticed that she hadn't gotten the time or date wrong, she'd gotten the room wrong."

"Oh my go-d! I'm in the wrong room!" Marinette started to re-pack and the girl next to her just giggled.

"You're a funny one. I'm Juleka by the way. Hope you get to your class in time."

"Marinette," she waved, "Thank you!"

She ran out of the room with some things in hand and her bag protesting against her skin. She looked around for the correct room number, 105, and panicked when she found herself once again not being able to see the correct one. After some guidance, and an embarrassing crash, someone pointed her to the correct room and Marinette flew in there.

Without checking she slammed the door open and the _whole class_ turned to see her. The teacher, a nervous looking man with pale-brown hair cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry Miss, may I help you?"

"Uh… Uhm…," Marinette could feel her face burn bright and her eye go out of focus, "Is… Is this Public Speaking… for first years?"

The professor looked around, a couple of her soon-to-be-spoken-for-classmates snickered and giggled at her. Marinette followed his eyes, curious as to see what the heck he was looking for, when her eyes landed on a familiar, surprised face.

 _It's Adrien!_ Relief spread through Marinette like a warm bath.

"Last time I checked, yeah. This is Public Speaking. For First years. Would you like to sit down?" The professor pointed to the seats in front of him. This room was different than the last. It looked more like a classroom, but shaped like a cucumber. The room was also brighter, adopting a more clinical white and blue than the dark room she had come from.

She quickly made her way to sit down next to Adrien and started pulling out her notebooks and pens once again.

"M-Marinette, I-I didn't know y-you were coming to PFI," he looked down, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"I didn't know you… were… either…" Just as she finally felt comfortable, all the memories of yesterday rushed in at once and Marinette felt her face burn like it never had before. The feeling of wanting to disappear resurfaced and she looked to see if there were close empty seats.

 _No… I shouldn't, that'd be so rude! But oh, my god, I can feel my dignity dying_. Marinette huffed nervously and tried to busy her hands as much as she could, without noticing that she had cut off the conversation completely.

Adrien looked at her as if he needed to say something, but the Professor had resumed the conversation and Marinette and Adrien turned to their own notes, squirming in their seats, unsure on how to act in such close proximity. The whole time they sat there, Marinette could barely hear the Professor's words, as she calculated to the very last detail, the fastest way to leave the building.

The day was not on her side, and she'd be damned if she got lost for her next class. Seriously, she'd be damned condemned.

"Okay, now that you have your first assignments, please make sure to get the textbook. If you didn't get the syllabus, please come here so I can give you one," the Professor looked directly at Marinette and she felt another slice of dignity whither and die, "Keep in mind that you have a week to complete your first speech, I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with. You guys are free to go now."

Marinette stood up suddenly and tried to power walk her way to the teacher's desk, but the rows were so damn long, why did Adrien sit in the middle?

 _Why'd you sit next to him dumb ass? … Ok, ok, no. You're not a dumb ass. You just saw a familiar face in a hectic day and you were relieved to not be alone in this world._ Marinette breathed as she got ready to exit the row when a hand quickly grabbed her. She turned to see a red Adrien.

"M-M-Marinette." He started. A moment passed.

"A-Adrien?"

He looked around again, and Marinette followed, noticing that the class was disintegrating into emptiness. The professor waved a syllabus in the air and Marinette blushed.

"Wait for me? I need to get the syllabus," Marinette smiled, feeling the heat release a little from her poor face. Adrien simply nodded and let go of her hand.

When Marinette reached the teacher's desk, the Professor was ready to reprimand her, "You must be Miss Dupain-Cheng. Welcome to Public Speaking. I hope this will be the last time you come to the class late."

"Sorry, sir, it's quite the embarrassing story. B-But I'll spare you the details…" She quickly corrected, as the Professor gave her a "try me" look.

"Here is your syllabus. Please get some notes from a fellow classmate, and make sure to ask for details about next week's assignment. It seems you already have friends here, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Good luck."

Marinette nodded and left, dragging Adrien out the door and into the small courtyard by his arm.

"Wait, Marinette, stop." Adrien pleaded.

"Oh," she paused, "Sorry. I just really needed to get out of there."

"It's okay," he blushed again, "I… I really need to talk. With you. If...that's okay."

She fidgeted in place, _Oh god, is he going to fire me? Did I really fail on my first day of my internship_ and _college? Uggghhh, so much for lucky ladybug._

Adrien cleared his throat and Marinette looked up, "Oh… Yes. YES. Yeahthat'sfine."

He smiled at her, and Marinette could feel angels singing in the back. She stared at his lips and then looked down abruptly. She saw his light take on his wardrobe, with a white button-up shirt and light green pants. He was casual, sure, but still ready to pose in front of the camera and she wasn't sure how to react to it. His hair was brushed nicely, and… no. She couldn't look at his eyes.

Why couldn't she look at his eyes?

 _Adrien_

Something about the way Marinette looked today made his body tingle. She had come much more casual than he ever remembered her. She wore a black draped wrap-around blouse with red shorts and gold sandals. And no make-up, so her freckles showed and her eyes sparkled on their own. She looked adorable. And edible…

"I-I-I wanted. Uhm," _Damn it Agreste_ _ **focus**_ , "I-I. So. You're at PFI. You. Us. We are here. Wow."

Marinette looked at him curiously, "Y-Yes. We are."

"Uhm. So do you… need the notes? Sorry. I … Didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Marinette giggled, and Adrien's spine shivered, "No, no worries there. And Yes, I do actually. Thank you. Does this mean you aren't mad about yesterday?"

This caught him by surprise, "Mad? Why… would I be mad?"

Red colored her cheeks and it took all he had not to just kiss her, "Oh. I guess. Uhm. No don't worry about it," she waved her hand at him and hit him on his shoulder, "UHM. SORRY. SORRY IDIDN'TMEANTOHITYOU."

He wanted to chuckle, but he held it in, and caught her hand as she flailed about, "No. Please, don't worry, it's just a shoulder. You're fine, Marinette. A-At WORK. You're doing fine at work. And here. At the school," Adrien looked for a searing hot needle to poke his eye in and instead found hope in the sun, "Look, listen, maybe we should, uh. Where is your next class?"

 _Fuck me, this is a disaster,_ Adrien groaned inwardly, _I need to speak like a normal human being. What is wrong with me?_

"It's in the second floor. But y-you don't have to trouble yourself. I-I'll be fine. It doesn't start in an hour anyway," She tucked her hair behind her ear and made a quick glance upward, "Besides, I'm sure you're going to be busy now, right?"

Adrien shook his head, "You have me till the end of the day if you'd like M'L-... arinette. If that's okay."

She smiled again, "Y-You can call me Mari, if you'd like. So PFI. I'm guessing you're here for the business track?"

"Sort of. The official name for it is International Fashion Business Management. It's crazy, but it's what I'm getting at."

"That's a crazy long name…"

"Heh, yeah, it sort of is. What about you? What brought you here?"

This time her smile was dazzling, and her eyes lit up proudly, "I'm studying Fashion Design."

He was taken aback by the sudden change in facial features that he didn't have time to react to it. He stayed silent and Marinette stayed glowing.

"I guess this is the first time we're really getting to know each other, huh?"

He snapped back, "Wh-what? Oh, yeah. Yes. I suppose so."

"We never really talked in High School. I hope this isn't overstepping, but your presence was kind of not very welcome at first in the school."

This woke him up, "Oh god, yeah. That. It was because of Chloe wasn't it?"

Marinette nodded, "Yeah she wasn't the nicest person. Sabrina followed in her footsteps and well sort of just assumed you fell in the same wavelength. Probably why we never spoke. Alya and I had Chloe our first year. It was torture. Ah, not that she's bad. I guess."

 _Now I can blame Chloe for this predicament_ Adrien thought to himself, as he smiled at Mari.

"No, by all means. If it weren't for Nino I'd probably would've been isolated by everyone. He told me about Chloe and made me realize she wasn't exactly nice. I'm sad she prompted so much negativity from everyone. She used to be pretty cool when we were kids." He smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking down.

"People tend to change. Who knows. Maybe she's becoming a better person and we don't know it. But yeah," she also looked down with a blush, "Is it crazy to tell you that I thought you were kind of cute back then?"

 _I thought I was on Earth but I guess God took me in a little early_ , "O-Oh? H-H-How so?"

"Ugh, you're going to think I'm super ridiculous," she hid her face in her binder and almost walked straight into the wall, if Adrien hadn't stopped her, "T-Thank you. Woah, that was close."

 _No kidding_ , he sighed, and put on a smile, "Well, I'm glad I had such a beautiful girl crushing on me."

The red in her cheeks deepened, "Thank you f-for the compliment. You know, you're pretty easy to talk to. I never would've guessed that back in High School. Sorry, I hope that didn't sound rude."

"Haha, you say sorry a lot. No need to apologize. I'm glad I'm someone you can talk to," Adrien smiled again, _Baby steps, right?_ Even though he felt like a train had rammed his heart, flat and then the conductor came back to finish it off. Marinette Dupain-Cheng had a crush on him back in high school, and now the roles were reversed. His timing not only sucked, it was a black hole consuming the universe.

She smiled at him more brightly, "By the way, let me give you my number so you can send me those notes. I hope that's still okay. And if anything, since we'll be in the same class we can always help each other out, right?"

"Y-Yeah. Yes, I'll text you right now so you can save mine as well. Actually, want to meet up after you next class for lunch? That way I can review some of the things the Professor said and what not." _Now we're getting somewhere. And look, you didn't stutter like a fool._

"Yeah, that'd be awesome! Thank you Adrien, you're a godsend." Adrien handed her his phone and she typed in her credentials. Once in, he sent her a quick message so that she may save his.

"Got it. Okay then, I'll see you at 12?"

"Sounds like a d-... uh plan."

Marinette smiled again, and went in to give him a kiss on the cheek, one on each side. Adrien could smell the soft scent of the bakery on her, and thought how it fit her, when suddenly someone yelled out her name. Mid-way she turned her head just enough to look who it was and Adrien ended up kissing her on her lips.

A small electric shock passed between their lips in that split moment and the whole world seemed to tilt upside down. They flinched away from each other, neither saying a word. They simply stared.

 _Marinette_

If she didn't know any better, she would've said Adrien Agreste just kissed her in the lips. But she did, and even though it was literally a peck, it made her whole body shiver in that split moment. She stared at him, truly stared into his eyes for the first time she could remember.

And there he was.

Plain as day, for the first time in a long time.

Her Chat.

* * *

 **Hey Guys!**

 **Fun Fact: I based Marinette's first day in college off of my own experience. I had gone into the wrong class thinking it was my class and didn't notice until the speaker was talking about the theatre stage. I did also slam the door to the actual class but the professor was much more chill. Thought it would be so like Marinette to get class number wrong and decided to use it.**

 **All in all, thank you so much for reading this chapter, see you next Wednesday!**

 **Please leave comments, I'm living off of them and I just... Thank you for the comments thus far. I truly appreciate it.**

 **And thank you to all of you liking and subscribing. I didn't think this story would get this response.**

 **Till Next Time! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N : Hey guys,**

 **Sorry for the hiatus period there. I know I'm like three weeks late (omg I'm really sorry QxQ) but all is good. Had a bit of a writer's block there since these characters really want to hash it out but Marinette's so shy and she really wanted to run away.**

 **As a bonus, I'm adding a little playlist you can hear while reading this chapter. (Might be repeated later, I just love these songs, hehe)**

 **JUMP - DROELOE, Nevve**

 **Level Up- Ciara**

 **Be Careful - Cardi B**

 **Wait - NoMBe (Goes more with Adrien's POV, but meh)**

* * *

Chapter 4 : Confusion

* * *

 _Marinette_

Marinette's heart raced to an alarmingly fast pace. She wasn't sure how to respond in light to the new information. In fact, she felt like passing out. Perhaps even vomit. Better yet, both.

Her lips still tingled from the brief touch of their lips, and she questioned it so hard. His eyes softened as she continued to stare right into them. They were melting into her own and causing her body to explode with fire.

This was some next level shit.

And it was with….

No.

 _No,_ Marinette wanted to hide in a hole somewhere but she didn't have the option. Adrien looked at her now with full blown concern.

"I-I… Ineedtogo." she squeaked. But her body couldn't move for a solid minute.

Adrien reached for her in her moment of hesitation, "I… Sorry. Uhm," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and then impaled her with his glance, "It was good talking with you. I'll text you later okay?"

Marinette visibly relaxed, and she sighed and smiled at him. Her head was still swimming, and she knew she needed her best friend. _Right. Now._

Juleka called out to her again and both their heads snapped in her direction. Adrien bid her adieu, and walked away, with a mischievous smirk lurking under his lip.

"Wow, Marinette, what was _that_ about?" She smiled at her, but Marinette could only make small parts of her face move.

"Ah… N-Nothing. H-He's a f-friend."

"No kidding. A _very good_ friend, by the looks of it." She was teasing her. Was their relationship going to be a teasing kind? Was that level even possible right now? Juleka stared at her for a moment with a scientist's eye, keeping her smile.

"I guess I can understand. So that guy you were talking to, just now. You like him?"

Like an arrow in the center. Marinette's blush only deepened as all of her thoughts flooded her mind again.

Juleka laughed, "Oh Marinette. That's so cute. You should ask him out."

"N-NO! Oh my goodness Juleka, I can't possibly do that!"

"Take it from someone that waited a long time for the person they love. It might seem completely impossible now, but who knows. It might already be fate." She smiled at her and Marinette really didn't know how to take Juleka's advice. More like, if she _should_ be taking her advice.

Marinette quickly pulled out her phone and texted Alya for further help. Alya quickly responded with a confirmation and a place that they could converge at. Marinette quickly agreed.

She turned back to Juleka, "Thank you, Juleka. I'll take your advice seriously. Are you going to be in Madam Bustier's Fashion History and Culture class?" She pointed to the classroom next to them.

"Yeah, actually I am. Why?"

Marinette waved her phone, "I have an emergency to attend to. May I copy off your notes later?"

"Sure, no problem." Juleka smiled again, pulling out her own phone and giving Marinette her number.

"Thank you so much Juleka. I officially owe you one." Marinette smiled, leaving Juleka and the campus behind her.

 _Adrien_

Adrien felt as if his body was on fire. It wasn't just the sheer joy and excitement coursing through his blood, but also her reaction. Something about staring each other in the eyes made their connection that much stronger and he didn't know what to think about it. He wanted to delve into it, but he knew it wasn't the place. It surely as fuck wasn't the right time. But yet his body still burned deliciously.

He had just kissed Marinette, and he craved to do it again. Like a man craving water in the desert.

She had looked at him with her eyes ping-ponging through a slew of emotions that he couldn't tell what she was feeling deep down. But it was interesting. It was like they changed color with each emotion.

Adrien walked away from the campus in search of the perfect coffee shop for this afternoon. He had an hour to look for a place. They would still have lunch, right? Despite the supreme awkwardness of what had just happened. Actually, should he call it awkward? Or a gift from the Gods?

His mind started to wander into darker thoughts, and he could feel his mind unravel at the thought of kissing her, and seeing her skin flush. Her lips curl into a smile and form sweet sounds.

 _Oh god, WHAT AM I THINKING_?! Adrien gasped, stopping mid-stride a couple of feet away from the entrance.

It was in that instant he turned to the front of the school, and saw a disheveled Marinette exit the building and get on a bus. His heart thumped painfully, as she ran inside, looking around as if she was escaping a prison compound. He was trying to put out the bitter feeling forming in his chest by saying she hadn't exclusively expressed that she'd not be able to…

 _Ding!_

Adrien gasped, taking his phone out faster than his heart beat. He quickly opened the message thread between him and Marinette, which is where the new message came from.

 _ **Marinette: Hey Adrien! I hope it's not too soon, but I actually won't be able to make lunch, something came up with a friend. Rain check?**_

He sighed, slumping a little from the stress this girl was going to give him for sure. He quickly texted her back a response, praying that she wasn't too affected from the kiss. He might be able to reassure her if anything.

 _ **Adrien: No worries Marinette, I understand. Maybe tomorrow while you're in the office I can give you my notes.**_

 _Ding!_

 _ **Marinette: Sounds like a plan. Thank you Adrien, I'll see you tomorrow then.**_

Adrien smiled, shaking his head knowing deep down what exactly was going to happen.

She was going to avoid him.

 _Marinette_

"What do you think Alya? What do you think about that?" Marinette stressed, taking sips of her coffee and staring at Alya as if she were about to go crazy.

Alya sipped from her own cup, breathed out and looked at Marinette sharply, "So you really believe Adrien is Chat?"

Marinette nodded, looking at Alya suspiciously.

Alya sighed and crossed her legs, "I don't know Marinette, what other proof do you have that he is?"

Marinette thought for a second, "He made me feel the same way Chat did at the party. It was the _same tingle_ Alya. I mean, you can't feel that way for two separate people right? Like, it's impossible. And then the color of his eyes. They were exceptionally bright. That same field-green of Chat's."

"Marinette, sweety, you do realize he's not the only guy in France with green eyes right? And yeah, it possible to feel that way about two separate guys, especially if you guys haven't even reached the intimacy stage. I mean, think about it. He's probably just your type. Tall, handsome, dangerous, and green-eyed."

"I'm sorry, dangerous? What makes Adrien dangerous?"

Alya chuckled, her eyes darkened, "He's your boss' son. Can you imagine how unbelievably fucking sexy dangerous that is? He could take you in his office if he wanted to."

"ALYA, I REALLY DON'T THINK THIS IS WHERE THE CONVERSATION SHOULD BE HEADING." Marinette blushed such a deep red, Alya thought her head would explode with how much extra blood had traveled to her head. Marinette didn't need to have that lurking in her brain when she went to the office tomorrow, especially. She might let him.

"Okay, okay. Sorry bestie. But you have to admit it's something to think about. Besides, didn't Chat have black hair?"

" _DYED_ black hair. Alya, do you even listen to me?" Marinette felt exasperated with the conversation already and was beginning to think her best friend was creating doubt for fun.

"Right," Alya sighed, "Well okay. Let's think about that for a moment then. We don't know his true hair color, we only know that it's lighter than black, right? And like, much lighter, correct?"

Marinette nodded her head twice as Alya went along.

"Okay, I'll give it to you. Adrien might be Chat. But he can't be the sole candidate."

" _Just who else Alya_? Who else from Dupont had green eyes and light colored hair?"

"What if it was a joke, the whole light-colored hair? Cause I can tell you who else had green eyes in Dupont."

Marinette looked at her confused, and irritable at this point.

Alya tsked at her and proceeded to say, "Marc Anciel. He had the green eyes and the dark hair. How do we know maybe he wasn't your Chat?"

Marinette had completely forgotten about that classmate. Guilt attached itself to her heart as she realized that she had forgotten to pay mind to an old friend. Marc, her and Nathaniel were part of a project once, and she felt horrible forgetting about him, but she also knew deep down that it wasn't him.

"I don't know, Alya. It just doesn't seem to make sense like that. Besides, I'm not entirely sure Marc ever liked anyone besides …" It hit her in that moment. She remembered he had showed a lot of interest in her back then. She had played it off as him being nice, but if she thought about it could have been like a little crush. But then again he also really liked Nathaniel, as per how much they ended up hanging out afterwards.

Alya was _not helping_.

"You know what. I really don't think it's Marc. His are like radiation-green eyes and Adrien is more field-green. Know what I mean?"

"Hmmm," Alya sipped her coffee again, "Okay, I guess I can give you that. And Marc doesn't really scream dangerous, if you know what I mean."

"I have a feeling you just want to create doubt in me." Marinette groaned, taking a bite out of her coffee cake.

Alya chuckled and Marinette shot her a warning glare, "Relax bitch. I guess I sort of am, but you have to remember. You spent a solid week going crazy with who it could be, and not once did you mention Adrien. In fact, it's like the boy was literally the last person you could think of. You even guessed Nino, and his eyes are as hazel as my own. I'm just making sure you're not going to go bat-shit crazy again. Cause, you went bat-shit crazy."

Marinette rolled her eyes, and grind her teeth. Alya had a point, and she hated it. She had practically guessed every other student, regardless of eye color, and she had basically been unraveling.

"Look. I think you and Adrien can be super cute together. Maybe even a-fucking-dorable. But don't make him into Chat when he just clearly isn't. Forget Chat. Get to know Adrien. Don't get confused."

Marinette sighed, sipping her coffee again, "You're right Al. You're… you're absolutely right."

 _Adrien_

Adrien arrived home from his day emotionally exhausted. He felt a little pain from knowing that tomorrow was going to a game between him and Marinette dancing around each other. He'd seen enough movies, talked to enough girls, and understood enough about human society to know that she was going to try and flip around him tomorrow. Heck. She didn't even wait till the next day.

He loathed to think that he had already lost his chance when it quite literally hasn't started.

He got up, and got dressed to work out in the gym his father had installed for him during his teen years. It at least served the purpose to relieve stress.

After two hours he left that space and decided to take a relaxing bath. It was like every minute he was only getting more and more nervous about seeing Mari again. She flooded his mind and he couldn't find the stop button.

He was in serious danger of becoming obsessed with her. Even that could be an understatement.

 _Ding!_

Adrien jumped out of the tub so quickly he actually had the misfortune of slipping out roughly and hitting the ground hard. Groaning, he grabbed his towel from the rack and his phone along with it. He opened the message.

 _ **Nino: Hey man! Hope I'm not catching you at a bad time. Alya just let me know that they're doing a party this Saturday to celebrate the first week of college. Can you believe this woman? I swear I'm marrying her someday. Anyway, she wanted me to ask you if you'd be willing to come. Mari will be there.**_

Adrien smiled brightly, and thought, _What better way to get to know her more than a dance or two?_

He quickly replied yes, and confirmed time and location.

It was time Marinette got to know him as Adrien, and for Chat Noir to fade in the background.

* * *

 _ **I hope ya'll enjoyed it. Please leave feedback, I really welcome it. (Thank you for all the comments so far, you guys are awesome)**_

 _ **I promise to update earlier than three weeks.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **~PurpleMoonMonster**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone,**

 **Again, sorry for the delay. x I'm moving and switching jobs right now, so life is really crazy. Also, this is one of my shorter chapters, mainly because the Club scene, I want it to be separate cause ThInGs MiGhT hApPeN.**

 **Who knows.**

 **If you'd like, I wrote this chapter listening to : Tell Me by It's Different (ft. Helen)**

* * *

Chapter 5: Restart  


* * *

 _Adrien_

Whoever invented the word "jitters" knew what the hell they were talking about.

The whole week progressed, and Adrien felt his body on the verge of exploding because of all the emotions shooting up his veins. He could literally feel his body vibrate, as if there were a thousand ladybugs beating their wings in unison.

The day after the impromptu kiss, Marinette acted with a level head, much to his surprise. Totally cool, like the bad-ass bitch he knew her to be, deep down. However, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt by it. Of course he understood how painfully awkward it would get if they both ended up talking about it, but it almost trumped whatever the heck Marinette had decided to do. She had become the perfect professional around him. He wouldn't have realized it was only with him if he hadn't caught her laughing and talking with Tikkie like old friends, the following day. Adrien just wishes she wouldn't feel the need to distance him like she was.

Adding to the frustrating situation was the fact that Plagg had also called on the day he was supposed to return, stating that he was going to take an extra couple of days. Apparently the company they were signing on as part of the brand were postponing the signing by showing Plagg aspects of the company, and all Miami had to offer, as if he had the power to move headquarters or something.

" _Damn Miami people take their sweet time here. I get it, I'm an awesome man, but this heat is_ killing _me."_ He had complained.

Tikkie hadn't taken the news well, and had gotten slower at her job, giving Marinette a chance to swoop in and help her out whenever she felt too depressed to finish something. It was like she jumped at the chance at being away from him. Of course, he had accepted it, since Tikkie is an integral part of the office, but she refused to stay home, so in the end she got Marinette as her crutch. And, if he had to admit, it gave Marinette a chance to learn vital skills to an office for designers.

The promised lunch ended up coming around until Thursday, and it had been the most productive and professional lunch he had been in. Marinette was truly skillful, keeping it at such a professional level that Adrien felt like he was in a business meeting, not a meeting of friends discussing their courses.

By the end of Thursday, Adrien didn't know what to feel. Marinette acted differently than the girls he had encountered, growing up. Any one of them would have jumped at the chance to kiss him, let alone have him wrapped around their fingers, like she did. But instead of abusing that small power, she had no idea she had, she ran from it. Heck, even ignored the living shit out of it. Was there something possibly wrong with him?

Along with the frustration came an urge he wasn't sure he could control for much longer. It was as he craved to peel back her layers, and…

He knew he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what. It was now Friday afternoon, and the get-together Nino had invited him to would be tomorrow. Three full days of this had to end before alcohol and dancing were thrown in the mix. Only God knew what would happen if he got there while she was wearing whatever she decided to wear. It was clubbing, so she probably was going to go for something short and cute, or...

 _Let me stop your right there Agreste. Not even going to continue that thought, nope,_ Adrien sighed, pulling his hair back in frustration. He looked around his temporary office and groaned. He looked at his papers, the computer and just started taking in details randomly, just so that he could not think about her for a moment. It was all he could do, since going outside still made him think of her as they would surely make eye-contact as he left.

Done for, he picked up one of Tikkie's drafts for the company wide memo, hoping to simply stamp his approval on it and be done with it, until he noticed more than one discrepancy. Who would write "congregation" instead of just "meeting"? He kept reading and realized that the hyper-formal memo, and the exaggerated use of words were not Tikkie's doing, but rather Marinette's. He couldn't help for a single moment, feeling the sweet taste of defeat for being unable to not think of her for more than a couple of seconds, before being flooded by the warm feeling of just how cute she was.

Of course he had to give her lesson, and he wasn't sure if he was dreading it or excited.

"Marinette, can you come in here please?" Adrien breathed out, pushing the button from his phone to call her from Tikkie's desk.

"Right away," she responded mechanically.

He waited a couple of seconds before he watched her walk in, with a tight red pencil skirt and a simple beige blouse. His eyes drank her in, and he cleared his throat. The woman was not helping his control. She shuffled nervously in place.

"Close the door, I need to speak to you about something."

She visibly paled, but did as she was told.

"Don't worry, it's not life or death. It's about Tikkie's draft memo. Is it safe to assume you wrote it?"

She started to turn green, but she slowly nodded, "Y-Yes. She… She was very specific about how to write it. Sh-She told me it was okay?"

Adrien smiled at her, and he saw a blush appear on her cheeks. It was the first reaction she had since the kiss and it only made Adrien smile more.

"Would you like for me to show you what you did wrong so you can write it better next time?"

"Okay. Yes please." She reverted back into professionalism, Adrien cringed but kept on.

"Okay, come here, I'll show you on the computer. You can bring your chair."

She looked at him hesitantly, but complied, bringing the chair around and plopping right next to him, looking over his shoulder to the computer screen. It was the moment he was waiting for. Something to melt the ice around them. As he sat there and explained to her how to write a proper memo, and also letting her know that it didn't need to be written by an over zealous Oxford student, he saw her visibly relax.

"Next time, if you'd like, and if Tikkie isn't feeling up to it, we can write the next memo together. That way you can learn a little extra from watching it as well, sound good?"

Marinette genuinely smiled, "Yup. Thank you Adrien."

"Sure, no problem."

She got up and was placing the chair back when Adrien called to her.

"Wait, actually, Marinette. I wanted to talk to you. If that's okay." He blushed from the spark of courage and the slippery slope of not believing he actually called out to her. But she heard him, and turned around before reaching the door.

"Is there something else I can help you with?" She asked, professionally of course.

"Uhm, no not… not really. Just sit for a sec. It's Friday and I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now. I-If th-that's okay?"

She blushed again and hesitated, but did as she was asked.

"I… uhm…" _Great, now I don't know where to start. 'Hey Mari, we kissed by accident on Tuesday but it's okay. We're still friends! Oh, but wait, you sure you don't want to be my girlfriend?'_ Adrien held back a groan and searched his head for something real to say.

"It's been… I wanted to … No wait scratch that. I wanted to talk to you about… I know you and I have been a little sideways… No, wait… Not like that…"

 _Marinette_

Marinette felt her face get warmer and warmer as Adrien kept talking. She was getting one serious fever just watching him stumble over his words and having a complete understanding of where he was trying to go in this conversation. She had tried to avoid the conversation by keeping her conversations with Adrien at a super professional level but it seems it was an inevitable part of their friendship.

Could she really call it friendship when all she wanted to do was kiss him more? Maybe forever?

Marinette sighed. She was sure she was going to explode when he had called her to his office. Specifically her, and not Tikkie. Her thoughts immediately pictured Adrien grabbing her and kissing her senseless, so when he had mentioned the error on the memo, she tried harder not to fall into the abyss of disappointment she felt when he didn't immediately try to sweep her off her feet. Even though part of her felt cheated, another, more rational and adult-like part of her was relieved that it was not going to be… such … a thing…

But she was living her worst nightmare now as Adrien was trying to voice the awkwardness between them and she didn't know if she was ready.

"Adrien…" she called softly.

He stopped, cold in his tracks and looked up at her. Their eyes locked again and blue mingled with green. Both of them blushed hard but neither could look away from one another.

"So-Sorry Mari. I know that it's been crazy awkward between us, but… I-I really," he paused, breaking eye contact with her for a moment while Marinette tried to calm her erratic heart after hearing him call her by her nickname, "I know that we're just getting to know each other and what happened on Tuesday was really really awkward and I know it's neither of our faults but I feel like I should apologize?"

Marinette smiled warmly and chuckled, "Oh, no. No, you don't need to apologize. I-I should have paid better a-attention to my surroundings." they both blushed hard again.

 _Good lord this isn't helping…_ Marinette strained in her head.

"A-Alya! Alya, she uhm. She told me Nino told you about tomorrow. A-Are you coming?"

Adrien perked up, and Marinette could almost imagine him having cat ears for a second as he sat a little straighter, "Y-yeah. Feu et Glace right?"

"Yes," she paused, smiling again, unsure of how to even move, "That's… the one."

They were silent again. Neither unable to look each other in the eye and not ready for the next sentence.

 _Oh dammit to hell,_ Marinette growled at herself, perking up at the same time as Adrien did, as if they had both reached the same conclusion of sorts.

"Adrien…"

"Marinette…"

And they paused again.

Adrien was quicker to react this time around, "Would you like to start again? L-like. From the b-beginning?"

She smiled at him, "I think… I think that would be wonderful."

Adrien smiled as well now, and Marinette's heart skipped a beat. Her mind couldn't fathom how such an impossibly beautiful man could exist, but alas, here he was.

They kept on chatting, making it a full hour in before they both realized it was time to get on with it. There was work to be done and no one but them had stopped the world to simply talk like friends again.

The ice between them melted, and for once, Marinette was relieved.

"Oh man, I don't think I'm going to get that image out of my head anytime soon." Adrien chuckled, as Marinette giggled alongside him. They had just finished discussing Alya's and Nino's beautiful budding relationship.

"Try hearing it from my standpoint. Alya really likes details."

"I'm not surprised. She was the School's best journalist. I remember how fearless she was with her questions."

Adrien and Marinette got up at this point, both walking towards the door.

"Don't remind me. She hounded me after I won the derby hat contest. She's lucky she was my best friend at the time."

They both shared a laugh, and then silence as they awkwardly stood there for a second. Marinette looked back up at him and noticed him looking down. She focused mostly on his eyes, and the color. She just knew those were Chat's eyes, but Alya had placed enough doubt in her to question it. And it didn't help that Adrien seemed to not be as suave as Chat in the party.

 _Then again, how_ can _perfection incarnate be so flirtatious? Assuming he is Chat, right? Maybe I should ask him…_ Marinette perked up again at this thought and looked at Adrien's eyes, were they made eye contact. And just like the last couple of times it felt like there was a disconnect from everything around them. She was going to need some serious help if this boy could have such a strong effect on her.

Without realizing, they were getting closer, and had it not been fro Tikkie's abrupt entrance, they probably would have touched lips again.

Marinette jumped back, spikes of fear and exhilaration bursting through her body.

"PLAGG!" Tikkie yelled, a huge smile on her face.

"Plagg?" Marinette and Adrien asked in unison.

"PLAGG IS BACK! MY SWEET LITTLE PLAGUE IS BA~CK," Tikkie sang, twirling into Adrien's office and picking up random pieces of paper, only to exit with half of his workload.

"P-Plagg?" Marinette asked. Not remembering who he was, but remembering that Adrien had mentioned him in the first day.

"Y-Yeah. Tikkie's husband and the official regional office manager."

"Oh right," Marinette recognized, while looking around to see if she could spot the new face, "Where is he then?"

Adrien chuckled, "What Tikkie meant was that he was back in Paris. She's getting ready to finish the tasks she promised she'd finish."

"Oh? Why were they on your desk then?"

Adrien looked down at he again, and Marinette blushed, "I have faith that you can put two and two together. Anyway, go ahead and help her. I'll see you tomorrow? Feu et Glace?"

Marinette smiled and nodded excitedly, "Yup. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

 **For those who didn't want to search up what "Feu et Glace" means, it's literally just "Fire and Ice".  
**

 **Please comment, criticize, and all that jazz. I like reading the comments and any suggestions and/or things that can improve, especially since this is my first fic.**

 **Thank you everyone, hopefully see you soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. Hope you are all doing well.**

 **Here it is, chapter 6.**

 **I've made a small playlist (literally just three songs) to go along with the club scene. I'll put them here in order so you can make a small playlist to play or you can simply play each one at your own convenience.**

 **Just a small reminder, I don't own any of the music or characters. Please enjoy.**

 **-Devil Eyes by Hippie Sabotage**

 **-Red Lights (ft. Dotter) by Kill Paris (Just a Gent Remix)**

 **-The Buzz by Hermitude feat. Mataya and young Tapz**

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Feu et Glace_

* * *

 _Marinette_

Tension was building up as Marinette and Alya sat in Mari's room, perusing old and new designs. They were getting ready for tonight, five hours in advance. They could do it in five minutes, but they had decided together to sleepover, hangout and spend their sweet time picking out clothes, makeup palettes and accessories.

It didn't _need_ to be that detailed, but they were celebrating so much that they had decided "to heck with it". Besides, Marinette was excited for tonight, as she knew Adrien would be there. She would be happy to see him, as they were finally able to clear up their week's worth of awkwardness. She would love the chance to continue talking with him and getting to know him more. There was still so much to talk about, anyhow. And she wanted to finally get to the root of his existence, and to find out if he is who she believes he is.

So that's how she found herself here, with Alya, getting ready for a different kind of party, with a different kind of flavor. There were no masks here, just people. No secrets. No lies. And Marinette's skin was buzzing with anticipation.

"I don't know why you convinced me to look in your closet, I'm not as flat-chested as you." Alya groaned, putting back _another_ piece that was unable to handle her curves.

"Ouch, bitch. That's because you're looking in the wrong place. I put outfits I made for you over here," Marinette pointed out the second section of her closet, "And besides, I did say you could bring your own stuff if you'd like. No need to insult my perfectly normal boobs."

"Ugh, I know you said I could, but I have so much shit. We would have spent the whole day just trying to figure out what _I_ could wear. We need to concentrate more on what _you_ should wear." Alya smiled, setting an arm akimbo and giving her friend a mischievous smile that dripped with sexual overtones.

"Oh come on. What exactly are you expecting for tonight? It's just hanging out with friends."

Alya tsked, "This might be a friend night for _you_. But this is a get-you-some-sort-of-action night for me. You need to expand your horizon from boys in masks and green eyes. Just… Fucking go for it, you know?"

"Oh my god, Alya, I'm not about to do that," Marinette laughed, "Although, I don't exactly hate the idea. It might be a nice change."

Alya nodded, pulling a dress out, as if she had just found gold, "You need to make out with a guy you don't know and get an actual number."

"Okaaaay. Maybe not like that either. And woah girl, what is your mission tonight?" Marinette teased, looking at the red, tight fitting dress Alya had pulled out. Marinette remembered making that dress and the amount of blushes she had to go through. It was initially intended for her, but she hadn't realized, once she was finished, that she had actually made it more for Alya. It had a V-neck and two slits right under her breasts, cradling them in a feminine, yet flashy fashion. It was simply made but it would make for the perfect club dress.

"Fuck. Yes. This is what I'm wearing. I'm not even thinking twice. Don't you dare try and stop me." Alya smiled maniacally, her eyes shimmering with mischief and … something Marinette couldn't place.

"Go for it. Gonna give Nino a run for his money then?"

Alya's head whipped so hard, Marinette was afraid her best friend's head would snap itself, "Run for his money? Oh no. I have other, more diabolical plans, my bestie."

"Oh lord. Don't tell me. I don't want any details," Marinette paused, and then laughed, "Actually, fuck that. Give me the hoe story."

"Can't actually be a hoe if I'm only hoeing one guy, right?"

Marinette shrugged, "I have way less experience than you do right now, so honestly, it's whatever you tell me." Marinette continued browsing, absentmindedly at this point. She didn't really make club dresses, and when she did, it was usually for fun and someone else would take it. The last one she had given a dress to was the surprisingly shy Alix.

"So what ended up happening with Adrien. I know you said you guys are talking semi-normally again, but still."

Marinette stopped her search for a moment, sighing, "Honestly Alya, he makes me feel way too much in such a short amount of time. I thought I would go crazy this past week just being in the same vicinity as him. I was glad we ended up talking most of the awkwardness out, but… I dunno. I have to get to know him more before I can really even consider him."

Alya tsked, "Girl, you are such a bullshitter."

"Excuse me?" Marinette felt a wave of anger rise up.

"You're bullshitting. It's the honest-to-God truth. You're telling me that you want to take your sweet time with someone who is proving, in some few ways, that he's a sweetheart, while you were 100% ready to jump the bones of a stranger you met for like 5 minutes? It's bullshit."

"I… I…" Marinette stuttered, unable to handle the truth dish Alya was laying down. At least, she couldn't contest her way of thinking about the situation. It just made her blush and feel completely embarrassed, and even anxious.

"Sorry if that was too harsh, but I think you really need to hear it. I'm not telling you to have sex with the guy, but if you were so willing to give a chance to Chat, what's holding you back from giving Adrien a chance? It's so obvious you guys like each other."

She _had_ been ready to give Chat anything, as long as she could find him, but she never did. Well that was still up for debate, but she hasn't nailed down a confirmation. But, she was willing enough, and now she's giving Adrien a longer wait because she's unsure? Just how sure was she when she met Chat?

 _Damn, Marinette, you really put yourself in a box and condemned it, didn't you…_ Marinette thought, browsing more dresses until she fell on one of her floral-printed dresses. It was lovely, a gallus, sleeveless, and backless dress, with dark blue fabric and the bottom printed with brightly colored flowers. It was short, so it would end up higher than mid-thigh, but also sweet enough to keep a shred of innocence.

Alya whistled, "Daaaaamn female. That's going to be your dress right? I'll personally murder you if that's not the dress you were thinking of taking."

Marinette laughed, "Jesus Al, you need to calm down. You're seriously more excited about this than I am at this point!"

Alya laughed and grabbed Marinette to her desk where they had once again, set up a makeup station.

"This is going to be our night, don't forget that." Alya reminded her, taking her bottle of primer and spreading it across her face. Marinette watched her for a second, and was grateful that Alya was her best friend. What she said was harsh, but it made her feel determined to live a little, as well as made her see the flaw in her thought. Marinette, however still wasn't ready. And she probably wouldn't be for a little bit. She would live a little, but she'll be more cautious with her emotions this time around.

She picked up her own primer and got to work.

 _Tonight better be worth it_ , she thought, as she continued getting ready.

 _Adrien_

Adrien drove his car right up to the valet. He gave the man his keys and looked around for the crowd he was looking for. He had to admit it was his first time in a club, but he wasn't about to show it, if he could. At least now he didn't need his father's permission. He hated the thought of still having to prove himself to his father even now, as a young adult. It would shatter him, had his father kept imposing strict rules. But he didn't, and Adrien was no longer afraid to do as he pleased. Within reason of course, as he was still closely watched by the media and the throngs of fans he had kept from his youth. He had to act dignified, but also be himself. It was a line he was just learning to walk.

Adrien looked around to see if he could spot a familiar face outside, but no one was there. He made the line, where they were checking IDs, and texted Nino while he was at it.

 **Adrien : Yo, where the hell are you? I thought we were all going to wait outside?**

 _Ding!_

 **Nino: Hey man! Yeah, it started getting busy so we went inside. Besides, you're texting me an hour late bro. Just come on in, this place is insane!**

Adrien rolled his eyes. Yes, he acknowledged his tardiness, but he couldn't be blamed when he knew he was going to see Marinette tonight. He quickly texted back.

 **Adrien : Alright. I'm already in the line.**

 _Ding!_

 **Nino: Also, just a heads up. Don't drool when you see Mari. The girls both outdid themselves for tonight.**

Adrien stared at that last message warily. Just what the heck did he mean? He flashed his ID to the bouncer, who immediately recognized him from his youth.

"Hey man, you're Adrien Agreste, ain't you?"

Adrien panicked, not wanting the attention the man was unknowingly bringing him. He shook his head and gave the bouncer a questioning glance. He looked at the ID once more in confusion, not quite understanding, and the people behind him were starting to look at him suspiciously.

Adrien, without much else to do, went to grab his ID, slipping the bouncer a couple of bills, "Sorry you have the wrong guy. But thank you for the compliment."

That's when the bouncer got the idea, and nodded, letting him in. Adrien sighed, a load off his chest, as he basically ran away from the entrance.

The first thing he noticed was the absolute darkness. There was nothing but the black lights that distorted reality. It was a small-ish space. A simple bar on the wall, and, like, three booth tables to the end of it. There also weren't as many people in here and he started to doubt just how full clubs really got. He could hear the music, and so he followed it to the end of the room, where a doorway led to the bigger part of the club. The larger room behind the doorway was divided into two large, ballroom-like rooms. Fire was painted on the side of the first section, and when he entered it felt like he was on fire because of how ridiculously hot it was. He started to look around, looking for any familiar face.

It didn't take him long to see Nino dancing next to someone he didn't immediately recognize. As he got closer, squishing past a horde of mashing bodies, he noticed it was Alya and she was… _Holy shit, what is this girl wearing?,_ Adrien thought before calling out to him.

Nino beamed up at him, which Adrien immediately commented in his head about. _Of course he's happier than a hummingbird on a flower,_ he chuckled to himself. Nino responded to him, but it was hard to hear him under the pounding music.

"What?" Adrien mouthed, getting closer. Nino pulled him and dragged him into the small bubble of space they had made.

"Look to your left, you thick-brained asshole!" Nino yelled into his ear, showing zero concern for his ear health.

Adrien obeyed, turning his head to the left and seeing the world's most beautiful woman dancing nearly next to him. Her dress revealed her long legs, and her thin waist. It curved around her perfectly, and it turned on the flames in Adrien's heart. And other places, if you know what I mean. The dress itself was also beautiful, being that it was darker colors contrasted with bright ones, he could compliment it both as a man and as the son of a fashion designer. It was very much like Marinette to wear such a dress. He finally understood why Nino had warned him not to drool.

As she danced, she slowly turned around their eyes met, and their worlds shifted once more. He quickly noticed the glass in her hand, which was almost now empty, and he wanted to be concerned, but he couldn't stop the rest of the feelings coursing through him. She smiled so brightly, Adrien swore he could see the light.

 _Play : Devil Eyes by Hippie Sabotage_

"Adrien! You made it!" She chirped. He smiled back at her, ready to respond when he noticed someone standing next to her and looking him in the eye as well. It was a guy, equally as tall as he was, with black hair with blue tips, and light eyes. For a moment, the fire-room they were in played tricks on him, showing as if the guy's eyes were on fire, as he met a rival.

His smile fell and he was unsure of how to handle that bit.

"Yeah, got caught in traffic." He said low. Marinette stared at him confused, unable to hear him, so he just waved it off, smiling down at her with less vigor.

She continued to smile brightly, and dance, as the guy wrapped his arm around her waist, their eyes meeting for a brief moment, and twirled her around, whispering something in her ear. To which she proceeded to giggle to. Adrien felt the hot coal of jealousy sear down his throat as it traveled down his esophagus. He felt like grabbing the guy and shoving him away from her, but something in him recognized, some very small part in him, that she wasn't his. She was free to do as she pleased. But a dark twisted part of him wanted her to be in his arms, dancing the way she was next to him and not some pretty boy that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Nino grabbed him again to yell in his ear, "Aren't you going to dance?!"

He chanced a glance over to Marinette, who now was looking straight into the other guy's eyes and smiling as they danced together. He didn't exactly feel like dancing, he felt like drinking.

Yeah. Drinking would help this situation.

"I'll be right back" he told Nino, shoving away from the group, and going straight to the bar. There he found the bartender firing glasses of liquor at the guests in a speed he's never seen. Without looking away from the glasses he poured he asked Adrien what he wanted.

"Four lemon drops and two Kick in the Balls*, please." Adrien shouted at him, watching as the bartender got confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. He quickly shot out more glasses to the other customers, and began pouring Adrien's shots. The first four were meant to mix the sugar and alcohol in him, before he could truly begin his descent into a drunken stupor with the last two.

Once finished, the bartender slid the shots to Adrien. He replied by leaving the bartender the money for the shots, "Keep the change".

He gathered his drinks and went to the table the group was occupying. There was a couple from the group that were already making-out as the danced. Adrien felt uncomfortable, but he let it go, and lined up his shots.

"Are you going to drink all of those?" Marinette asked loudly, her smile now twinged with concern.

"Yeah, why you want one?" Adrien asked, downing the first shot. Marinette's smile faltered, and she put her hand on his shoulder. It took everything in him not to shove her small hand away from him.

"Are you sure that's okay? Did you drive here?"

 _Why the fuck does she care all of a sudden, doesn't she have her knight in shining black?_ Adrien growled, internally.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." He yelled, downing his third and then fourth right next to it. The guy looked down at him and Adrien could feel the courage seeping into his bones.

"Hey man, you should probably slow down there." Said the _dick_ who took Marinette's interest.

He lowered the shot glass down and looked at the fuck-face, while he downed the fifth shot. The alcohol was so strong that the name it was given made complete sense. He had never tried it before, but he could see why Nino swore never to drink this shit again. The world began to blur and Adrien couldn't give less of a fuck.

"I _said,_ I'll be fine." He nearly growled. _Careful Agreste. He might have a point,_ said a voice that couldn't be his.

The guy's face didn't show any change of emotion, but his next words nearly floored Adrien.

"I get it man, somedays can be harder than others. Let me know if your world is too rocked, I'd be happy to help."

Adrien's eyes snapped up to him, he was ready to fight him to the death when he saw Marinette standing next to him, face contorted with concern and… dare he say, pity. Adrien got up immediately, world swirling out of control as he did.

 _Play (only if the last song finished): Red Lights (ft. Dotter) by Kill Paris (Just A Gent Remix)_

"Adrien? You alright man?" Nino yelled at him, appearing from behind Marinette.

"Perfect!" He yelled back, "In fact. I think I'll dance now."

He walked away from them and joined the others who were surrounding them. He stood next to Alya who was dancing next to a petite blonde girl and he decided to join in. Nino followed over, probably protecting Alya from Adrien's craziness.

He watched as blue-hair and Marinette exchanged words and glances, and joined the dance as well. They were more separate from the group, however, and Adrien took notice.

In fact, he couldn't stop noticing.

 _Marinette_

Marinette was having the time. Of. Her. LIFE.

It was her first time in a nightclub. She wasn't overly excited about the rampant drunkenness that was already occurring in the early stages of the night, but she didn't complain much. Especially since she was one of them, drinking and dancing and laughing.

After dress picking, she had received a text from Juleka about classwork for the weekend, and in a spur of the moment, and excitement, she invited her. Juleka instantly asked Marinette if it was okay if she brought her brother, who was also of age. Alya screamed and demanded Marinette to let them come, because it was sure to be a great addition to the already crazy night. Marinette gave the okay, and she arrived around the same time they did with tall, dark and gorgeous.

 _It's like the literal opposite of Adrien, my goodness!_ She told herself as she introduced herself.

"I'm Luka, Juleka's older brother. Nice to meet you, Mari." He smiled at her, and she just melted on the spot.

"N-Nice to m-meet you too."

As more people arrived, they talked, among each other, the group huddling together and meeting the new and the old. Rose came along with Ivan and Mylene. Alix and Kim came together with Max, who seemed to look out of place for once. All of them converged, talking for a while until Nino arrived and the entrance started filling up, before deciding to go inside and let the others know where they were as they arrived. Meanwhile Marinette turned her attention to Luka, who she seemed to strike up quite the conversation with. She learned that he was an aspiring musician, who preferred to play guitar.

"Any guitar. I just love the feel of it under my fingertips. I formed a band with my sister once when we were little. It didn't last long, since they couldn't understand us very well. Living on a boat and all, you know?"

"That' so cool, though. I never would have thought you were a musician. Although, I can see that happening with you and Juleka, and the odd hair coloring." Marinette spoke honestly, smiling as she took another sip of liquid courage.

They talked like that, getting to know each other, and the more Marinette heard, the more she enjoyed him. He truly was a guy in the wrong timeline, and it helped that he was gorgeous, like his sister. After a couple of drinks, and more of their group of friends arriving, they started to dance. Alya immediately took Nino to the dance floor, while Mylene and Ivan, who looked most out of place, joined them. Rose and Juleka also seemed to hit off, Marinette noticed.

She's honestly never seen Rose talk so much in her life, and it was perplexing and invigorating that she had made a good choice, not only for the night, but for her group as well.

Marinette placed her glass down, flagging the bartender for another, when Luke tapped her hand.

"Want to dance with me?" He smiled, that dark, delicious smile that melts her on the spot.

She could only nod, taking her drink as it arrived to her.

He slid his hand in hers, gently pulled her closer, and immediate hugged her to him.

 _Mont Blanc, Legend. He really knows how to choose cologne_ , Marinette thought, as the smell intoxicated her further. Smiling, she got closer to him, and he to her. He was fearless against her hesitation, and patient with her indecisiveness.

She couldn't help but think of _him_ in that moment. Chat's eyes, his own form of movement, and how he was more hesitant to mold to her. The dance with Chat wasn't worse, but it was different. Luka was definitely more confident in himself, twirling Marinette between his arms and even moving to her beat.

She could almost see his black hair and toxic green eyes staring at her from afar.

That's when she noticed Adrien, staring at her.

"Adrien, you made it!" She sang, waving her arm a little too enthusiastically. She could see his smile burst into brightness, but fell almost as instantly as it came. She wondered why. He mumbled something she couldn't hear, and he smiled weakly at her, waving his hand off, signaling to her that it wasn't all to important.

"I see you're knight in shining armor has arrived my lady," Luka whispered in her ear, and Marinette giggled at it. It was then that Adrien then told something to Nino and walked away.

"He's just a friend. I work with him." She explained to Luka, who simply gave her a smile and took her hand in his once more. Marinette blushed, and followed him.

Once again she was transported back three months as green eyes haunted her. Luka's blue were too similar, as they too had a cat-like shape, and they stared at her with similar amounts of intensity. Marinette couldn't help but get drunk off the feeling pouring through her.

When she saw Adrien coming back, she noticed how many shots he held in his hand. He had already downed one, and was going for a second, when Marinette excused herself from her dancing partner and went to Adrien right away.

'Are you going to drink all of those? Did you drive here?" She asked, hesitantly. Adrien's glance looked different. It hurt her to see him becoming hostile toward her, creating an instant wall between them. She watched as he drank two more, obviously not sharing.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," he responded. Looking away from her with more emotion and a sliver of guilt boiling to the surface. Marinette wanted to say something else, but Luka cut her off.

"Hey man, you should probably slow down there."

Marinette agreed, but when she looked back to Adrien, he looked like a hissing cat, "I _said_ I'll be fine."

Luka gently pushed Marinette aside and lowered his head to Adrien to say something else. Marinette couldn't make it out but after a couple of seconds Adrien finished his last shots and made a face as if in pain, before announcing something to Nino and going into the crowd around them.

Luka grabbed her attention back, pulling her into another dance, and being more possessive with her. She blushed at his confidence, and nearly forgot about Adrien. The night progressed like that, with Adrien acting out weirdly and sneaking drinks. As midnight came closer, Marinette took note of the group. Ivan and Mylene left into a small dark corner by themselves, as did Alix and Kim. Max, Rose and Juleka were sitting by the tables talking, and Alya and Nino were in their own little world.

 _Play (only if last song finished) : The Buzz by Hermitude, feat. Mataya & Young Tapz_

She hadn't realized how long they were dancing until she checked her phone for the time. Midnight descended upon them. Marinette looked around to see Adrien, but was unable to find him in the spur of the moment, and something in her panicked. Marinette stopped dancing altogether to go look for him. Luka stopped her, gently pulling her to him.

"Is everything okay?" he whispered low in his ear.

A tingle ran down her spine, but she responded, "Yeah, I'm just worried for Adrien. I don't think he's of mind right now."

Luka nodded, and held her hand as they walked through the crowd. They walked to the second room where the room was decorated with the ice-theme, and the temperature dropped dramatically as they entered it. The heat that had kept her warm in the first half of the room, was now overwhelmed by the cool breeze of the second room. It had icicles overhead, or at least mimicking ones, and light blue everywhere. Marinette was curious as to how far they would venture when she felt Luka stop, and point at a couple dancing in the crowd. She saw Adrien first, and she was ready to call him over when she saw a black-haired beauty pulling him to her, making out in the middle of the dance floor.

Marinette quickly lowered her hand and stepped back. Something like claws attacked her heart as she watched Adrien shamelessly kiss some random chick. She sure as heck wasn't ready to see it, and even less prepared for the onslaught of emotions that came with it. Luke tapped her shoulder, and she looked up to see a world of worry on his face.

He lowered his head, and whispered into her ear again, "Hey, are you alright? You look a little sick."

She smiled weakly at him, and whispered back, "No, no. I guess I just drank too much and my friend here took my off guard. I'm glad he's okay. Maybe we should go back though."

She began walking away first, and went back into the warmth of the fireside. Alya and Nino were also making out, and Marinette was also taken aback. But not like she was with Adrien's little surprise. She turned around, only to see Luka looming over her, his face still distorted by worry.

Marinette felt jittery, and awkward. She looked up to Luka once more and fixated herself on his lips. She thought about it for a second. A very true and long second, before she felt a mischievous smile spread across her face. She grabbed Luka and dragged him away from the group, and more to the center of the crowd. She roughly pulled him down to her, and kissed him.

She could feel him gasp on her lips, as she closed her eyes to feel the sensations coursing through her. He was very hesitant for the first couple of seconds, before responding.

"A-Are you sure about this?"

Marinette didn't skip a beat, "Yes."

She pulled him down to her again, and this time he didn't hesitate.

Both of them unaware of the pair of green eyes that watched from afar.

* * *

 **Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave comments, I do read them, I'm just really bad at responding. x**

 **I never know what to say, but I promise I read them.  
**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Regrets**

* * *

 _ **Marinette**_

There was something about the moment that really took Marinette by surprise. She knew in that moment, even if it was a tiny piece of herself, that knew, that this kiss would only be remembered by the fact that it was her first one.

Marinette wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that.

For a first kiss it felt like it was… lacking? Was it lacking? What was it lacking exactly? She sure couldn't say what, but she knew in this moment that maybe this was stupid. She pulled back, not wanting to continue. Maybe even talk to Luka about just staying friends.

When she looked at him he opened his eyes slowly and looked at her with darkness hidden in them. She stared for a second, amazed and scared by waht that look could even mean. She quickly turned her head around to see if she could find Alya, except, she noticed that this no longer looked like the club she was in. She turned back around to ask Luka what the hell was going on.

Except.

It wasn't Luka.

Unless Luka's eyes were as green as meadow grass, and light as a beautiful day. Unless, Luka's face was shaped perfectly, and surrounded by hair the color of the night, with a hint of a brighter color underneath it's soft grass texture. Her heart skipped a beat and she reached out to him unknowingly. There was a darkness in those unbelievably sunny eyes. But it wasn't bad. It's wasn't evil.

It was…

Wait, where the hell was she _now?_

Marinette looked around and saw the meadow she had briefly thought of. The perfect, sunny, spring day. A meadow that stretched forever, with trees in the distance blooming pink. The breeze tickled her, and the smell of flowers hugged her lovingly.

" _All for you, M'Lady."_ She heard him say. A small gasp escaped her lips as she realized who it was. Her heart stumbling to continue beating as his voice caressed her everywhere. She was suddenly dying to see him again. Kiss him again. Anything. Him. Again.

She couldn't turn back to him fast enough, hoping to see the beautiful, emerald eyes. Her eyes. But instead, she found icy blue orbs, looking down at her. Judging her. Looking through her as if she weren't worth enough.

" _Don't you want to be with me?"_ it struggled to say to her. As if crying.

She looked back again, wanting to escape the question, and there he was again, Chat Noir. Both of them, looking at her, expecting… Something.

The panic ensued and Marinette wanted to run.

A thunderstorm settled in the middle and expanded as she tried to run. It began to rain at her heels, until it covered her completely.

Blue and green seemed to be fighting for her attention and Marinette simply didn't want to choose.

So she screamed.

Herself awake.

"Marinette?!" her father practically broke the latch to her room open, just as Marinette caught herself hanging onto her flight of stairs, leading to her bed. She had almost fallen in her hurry to get out of whatever crazy ass dream she was having.

"D-Dad?"

So about an hour later, Marinette found herself in her own living room, sitting down next to her mother, as her dad decided to call a family meeting to talk about Marinette screaming herself awake. Meanwhile, Marinette herself was trying to end the embarrassment.

"... I mean, what kind of 18 year-old had nightmares the day after a party with her friends? No year-old, I'll tell you that! No year-old would have _nightmares_ after a party. Unless, of course, there were drugs involved? Or did someone touch you? Inappropriately?" her father growled the last part, crushing the muffin he was eating in his hand with a little too much force. Marinette's mother, Sabine, got up and softly touched her husband's fist. He instantly calmed down 90/100 knots.

"The poor muffin…" she sighed.

"God, no. No, Dad, nothing bad happened. I promise, cross my heart."

"Then?! What's with the screaming?" +50/100

"Tom, seriously, you need to calm down. It's not the first time our Mari has had a nightmare." -10/100

"Th-That may be true, my love. I just can't understand what the heck made her almost jump out of bed. I mean, what happened last night?" His suspicious eyes were back (+20/100), and Marinette was already tired. The whole morning was practically wasted on this, and she needed it to end.

"Ohhhh my goooooood. Dad, I'm just a little stressed from all the new changes. I had a lot of fun last night, I promise." _Maybe even a little too much fun,_ she thought, but would never admit that loudly.

"Okay Tom. Let's just, again, calm down, and let's finally have breakfast… Okay, brunch, and just spend the day relaxing, okay? Come on. Mari, can you help set the table?" -70/100 (if you weren't counting, no fear! Tom's rage is at 10/100 now)

"Okay. Mom."

She didn't even want to think about how her Dad would react if she told him what she had dreamt about in the first place. It probably would have sparked the "family meeting" sooner. Goodness, it probably would have lasted till dinner time. And it was such a dumb thing to be screaming about. Of course she wouldn't choose between Luka and Chat because she'd obviously chose….

Well, it was clear that she'd go with…

Well if you really think about it for a little, her choice would most likely be…

 _Oh god, what have I done?_ She asked quickly in her head, _Nothing, you dumb bitch. Why are you even freaking out, you're 18 aren't you? I mean, it's not that 18 is a magical number or something, but you're considered an adult in the majority of the planet by now. How can a stupid kiss derail you like this? I-It was just… a kiss… you know… A drunk one… Okay, fine you were tipsy, but whatever… And you did just literally meet the guy._ And then Marinette's thoughts were slammed by a whole new one. To someone that was still unnamed in this whole ordeal.

Adrien.

She damn near sliced her hand open holding the fork she was placing on the table with the building frustration. Her dad noticed immediately.

"WHO TOUCHED YOU BABY GIRL, I WILL END THEM." +90/100

"TOM!" -30/100

"DaaaAAAAAD! QUIT IT!" (-50/100) Marinette huffed, slashing the fork around like a deadly instrument. This day could literally not get any worse.

Then, her phone rang, and she went to check caller ID.

 _Why do I even say that when I know it's going to get worse?_ She groaned.

 _ **Adrien**_

There was a throbbing pain that took hold of Adrien's head as he stirred into wakefulness. He could feel the sharp flashes dig into his cranium, one by one, in a slow torturous dance that he couldn't stop if he wanted to. Apparently, no amount of sleep could help you with a hangover this strong. In fact, it was the very thing waking him up right now. Good god, he could feel the back of his eyeballs threatening suicide as he creaked them open just to see if he was still in the same dimension.

It was pure torture, but his brain knew it was a necessary evil.

It was a whole new world, this morning, as he traversed his eyes down to the heavy slump clinging to his torso. Nino had him in a sleepy death grip, and Adrien realized that his friend had probably dragged him back home. He looked over the edge of his bed to his clock, to see that most of his day had already sped past him.

"Grrrrnnnnnnnnnn" Adrien groaned, as he tried to lift Nino off of him, only to find out his eyesight wasn't the only thing that's turned to jelly.

"Shh, Alya… ten … more … minutes." Nino said grouchily.

"OFF" Adrien screeched painfully, kicking Nino, with what was left his energy, back to reality.

"What? What?" Nino jumped to his feet, searching the room for all possible threats. Adrenaline and energy Adrien did not possess at the moment clear in his stance.

"I. AM NOT. ALYA." Adrien huffed, once again, finally hearing his voice. Fuck that, finally _feeling_ his voice. Holy fuck, it was like screeching metal in the back of his throat. Where the hell was this endless pain coming from? Did he get into some sort of bar fight last night or something?

"Oh… Sorry my man, I guess I've just gotten used to her being my bed mate," he smiled bashfully before going military-serious, "But let's forget that, how's the asshole this morning?" Nino asked pointedly, stretching and cracking the rest of his body into wakefulness.

"Don't hit me daddy." Adrien flinched jokingly. At least he still had humor available to him in this godforsaken state.

"Ohhhhhh ho ho no you fucking don't. You have a lot of explaining to do, amigo. Not just because of your royal fuck up with Marinette, but also that chick you had to yourself last night. You done fucked up."

Adrien, at this point, was a standing semi-human being, with his eyes closed, holding onto whatever comfort they felt while closed. He had been able to crawl (literally) out of his bed, and to the door of his bathroom. Washing his face would work, right?

But what had Nino said? He had fucked up?

"How… exactly?" Adrien whispered.

Nino was definitely more adept at the moment, as he walked towards Adrien, and helped him off the floor and to the sink as he explained.

"Jesus, where do I even start? First off, you did absolutely _nothing_ with Marinette. Girl was practically at the edge of her seat waiting for you to make a move and you flunked out so hard and so bad. It was painful to watch you the first 30 minutes in the club. Then you got shit-faced, went around giving girls kisses, and ended up with one girl that looked like she was ready to date rape you."

Adrien looked up with what he assumed was a concerned face. To Nino, it looked like he was taking a shit. He could remember a girl last night, but that was _one_ girl. Not many. And he shivered at that last part. Nino had helped him get to the sink, so he could wash his face, maybe even come back to life.

 _At least, I thought there was a girl, who wasn't random_ , Adrien shrugged, cleaning his eyes clean. He rubbed as much water to his face as he could and he felt his life slowly coming back to him. He had to take a moment to sigh contentedly, as the water soothed his pain all over. Was that even possible with just a face wash?

Yes. Yes it was.

Nino's eyes narrowed as he sat down near the tub, now that Adrien seemed to be regain the ability to hold himself up for a period of time.

"I'm really glad you actually made it back to the table when you did. That girl seriously had me worried."

Adrien looked at his friend again with a less constipated face.

"Yup. Something was off about her, I'll tell you that. She wasn't leaving your side and you were downing shots faster than an alcoholic. It was also almost as if this girl _wanted_ you to keep drinking. Fucking forget your name if it was possible, because even when you were stumbling and slurring your words she bought you and the group more rounds. But mostly you. Let me just say this for good measure, you're fucking lucky you found your way back cause I swear she was planning of doing something to you."

Adrien was glad too. The story itself was giving him the creeps. He kind of hoped Nino would finish and then say "you've been punked asshole" or something. But he could tell Nino was dead serious. It was something that his father was always worried about too. Fame always came with a price and his father exhausted resources up the wazoo to keep him safe. They moved around the bathroom again, Adrien opting for sitting on the side of the tub as Nino went up to clean his face.

"I didn't think it was some random girl. Or 'girls' for that matter. I really thought it was one."

Nino was in the middle of wetting his face when he heard that, and his head snapped towards Adrien, mouth agape and eyes peeled open with water clearly falling into them.

"WHAT? WHAT THE HECK? WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU WERE… Wait. Don't tell me. Good fucking christ. You thought she was… No… You can't be THAT fu… Oh my god, you are. Y-You were, weren't you? You really thought… Wow. Just wow."

"What?" Adrien scowled, a little peeved that his friend was making a realization without his approval. He didn't need to be feeling more than what he was already feeling. Not that the image of her smiling and dancing wasn't going to incite some emotions of a romantic nature.

"You can't tell me you really thought any of the girls you kissed last night or the one that stuck to you like glue looked even remotely close to Marinette. That's just bullshit, bro."

Adrien felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He wouldn't confirm or deny Nino's conclusion because even he didn't want to admit it to himself. But he had to.

Nino groaned, finished bringing life back to his face, and sat down next to his best friend, "Alya is going to want to know the details of what happened last night. I had to rush you out of there before the brunette came back. Which according to her, she did."

Adrien sighed, pulling his hair back in frustration, while sliding into the empty tub.

"She's got me, Nino. She's really got me hard. I wanted to kiss her senseless, last night. I ended up kissing some creeper. And Marinette? I don't even know where she was…"

 _Wait_ , Adrien thought, _that's not completely true. I remember now…_

Nino noticed how his friend stopped talking and realized that he must have known what had transpired that night. The boy needed some serious help with his love life.

A miracle if anything.

"If it helps, at least you didn't end up with creeper that night. She was ready to haul you out the door, but you took her by complete surprise when you vomited on her. I have _never_ seen a girl that _livid_. And I'm with Alya." Nino chuckled, recalling the "exorcism style" vomiting Adrien did on the random girl. Enough to make her disappear long enough for Nino to beam him out of there.

Adrien gasped before letting out a roar of laughter. Only to stop because his head felt pinched and his ears rang from the rumble of his own voice. "Ah, sssss," he hissed in pain.

"You alright there Princess," Nino laughed heartily, getting up to rummage through the medicine cabinet before finding the medicine of life for a hangover. Adrien simply shot him suspicious eyes before his friend slid in right next to him in the tub again, and handed him a glass with water and the medicine of the Gods. They laid there for a moment staring at the ceiling before Nino went into his pocket and popped a piece of gum into his mouth. He offered Adrien one but he refused.

"I don't think I want to take a chance with sugar right now. Not until I can get over this hangover."

"Suit yourself, my man. This is some class A, 5 gum right here. I'm sure you probably already feel it's power without chewing on it yourself."

Adrien smiled, "You dick."

They both laughed, before Nathalie found them in the bathroom, calling them out for brunch.

 _ **Marinette**_

Marinette fidgeted nervously as she looked down on her phone, waiting for the message to come through and for the person she was waiting for to show up. Of course she had texted Alya the second the phone conversation ended. She didn't like the sound of Luka's voice when he came to this morning and she was worried that she was about to get a talk she honestly didn't even ask for.

This whole nightclub situation was supposed to be for fun, not some tangled mess of emotions and awkward situations.

She started thinking back to her dream as she pushed aside the plate of pastries on the bakery's counter, and sighed heavily. She was trying to be uncomplicated and ended up complicating herself even more.

What even was that dream? Was she still subconsciously searching for chat? And what about that last thought. Adrien. Was he even a part of this whole confusion? Sure she suspected him for a millisecond of being Chat, but she couldn't allow herself to dream that big. Nor could she let her heart be so easily reached anymore. Chat was a phenomenon she was unwilling to repeat.

A part of her couldn't stop it though. She kept thinking about him, the single night they had and how it's affected her life a little more than she wanted to admit. She hated how hopelessly romantic she was and how it was holding her back from pursuing another relationship.

He truly was a phenomenon. Hit like lightening and lasting just as long. Those green eyes. They were haunting her even now. Such a pure green. Alya's words before the club echoed in her mind. She couldn't deny, even now, that Adrien was a sweetheart. He was one in every sense of the word. He was also kind and the best kind of friend one could ask for.

 _But you don't want a friend… You don't want him to be your friend…_ Marinette thought, groaning as the door bell finally rang with her Sunday evening guest.

"Hey Mari." he smiled bashfully.

"Hey Luka." she responded just as shyly.

They stood there for a minute awkwardly staring around each other until Marinette eyed the plate and drinks that her parents were so kind to procure for them.

"Pastries?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah, thank you." He grabbed a chocolate filled croissant and took a small bite. Marinette picked up a macaroon and did the same, both falling into an awkward silence again.

Marinette was getting angry all of a sudden. Tired of awkward silence after an awkward silence. Jesus, couldn't she just act straight? Was she still going through puberty? My goodness.

"I want to apologize for last night. I shouldn't have let the kiss happen."

Marinette's head snapped up to see his blue eyes melting into water. To say she was surprised was an understatement.

"W-What? Why? I mean, I thought you wanted it to happen? I mean, unless it's against your religion. I don't want to be stepping on anyone's boundaries? I mean.. I … I, uhm…" Her words got tangled.

He looked down, almost ashamed, "No, it's none of that. Don't get me wrong, I really really like you Mari. We don't know each other too much but I really enjoyed partying with you and your friends last night. It's been a while since I've been able to do the same, to be honest."

"Then, why are you apologizing? I-I didn't hate it." _I only hated the aftermath_ , she confessed to herself.

"I recently got out of a bad relationship. The girl was kind of a manipulator but she was really good at making it all sound so real and true. All the lies she told me came off her tongue so naturally. But I loved her nonetheless. I-I think I still do."

Marinette could feel her whole being go into hyper-mode. She felt like laughing, crying and slamming a door to his face all at once. But then she thought about how hard it had to be to speak to a stranger about something serious like a bad relationship.

"Sorry, you probably don't want to hear this from a guy you just met."

"Ah! No, no. You're okay." She tried saying, reassuring herself more than anyone else.

"I'd like to get to know you." he said, as Marinette looked up to see his warm blue eyes looking down at her with a small smile. It was a downright sinful smile that had her captivated and stuck to one place. He was beautiful at that moment.

"I…"

"Ah, no. Sorry, that was too cheesy."

"N-No. It… just… took me by surprise is all." She whispered that last part, looking away to blush in peace. Luka smiled once more but it wasn't like she saw it or anything. She wanted to say something, but something pulled her back. Something darker and more cunning called to her as she looked back up into his beautiful blue eyes.

Luka could see it in her eyes. She didn't need to speak to him to realize that this girl was as ready as a lamb in another lion's den.

"Why don't we start as friends, deal?" He gave her a nervous smile and extended his hand for her to shake to seal the deal.

Marinette hesitated. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she took his larger hand and they shook.

They smiled together this time. Something had started and Marinette wasn't even sure if she wanted it to.

"Hi, I'm Luka Couffaine. Pleasure to meet you Miss?"

Marinette giggled genuinely, "Marinette."

"Marinette," Luka finished. Almost as if her name was a prayer.

If it were up to Marinette, she would have never agreed to be his friend. Or anything of his. But what can an 18-year-old lovesick girl do but trust guys stupidly?

 _The Next Day_

Marinette woke up the next morning with aches she didn't know one could conceive after a bad night of sleep. It was like her body knew that she was feeling upset, so it flexed every upset muscle it could. She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed for the internship. She wasn't sure whether to be excited about going or if she should be reluctant.

The image of Adrien's kissing fest was brought to her forefront the instant she began thinking of work and she wondered if the office would be awkward today or it'd be more smooth. She hopped for the latter but was preparing herself for the former.

She put on a simple, light blue flowy skirt with a white button up blouse tucked into the skirt, and beige t-strap sandals. She left her hair down and put on a simple opal pendant Alya had given her during her crystals phase. Her earrings were made of the same crystal, in tear drop shape.

It was a bit bohemian for her tastes but at least she was comfortable and elegant enough to not be out of place in Gabriel's offices. Especially for an intern. She smiled contently before walking downstairs to bid her parents a good morning, and walk out the door.

She was going to have to see Adrien eventually.

 _ **Adrien**_

Adrien paced the little office with all the energy in the world. It was the office space meant to be shared between the interns, and now that Plagg was back, it meant that Marinette and him were going to be sharing a big desk for all their tasks.

It was easier when it was just him. He could use the desk himself and he could use the space as an office as much as he liked. Plagg didn't mind and neither had his father. So when it came time to announce a new intern, he figured he'd need to move all of his things. He felt guilty about it until Marinette walked through the door, and Adrien had heard that she thought the intern office was actually quite nice.

In fact, right now, Adrien was too stuck in his thoughts to even hear Plagg walking through the doors briskly and slam a box full of paper down in front of him. You could almost _hear_ the wood crack under pressure.

"Adrien, I need you to look through these bills real quick, make sure that anything that says the name "Le Pont D'Or" is taken out. We need any conceivable record of theirs collected. Tell Marinette when she comes too. Four hands are faster than two."

"May I ask why?"

Plagg looked frustrated as he set two more boxes full of paper on the huge desk, "I want you to know the only reason why I'm explaining myself is because I know one day you're probably going to own his place."

Adrien smiled, and urged him to continue.

"'Le Pont D'or is under investigation for selling counterfeit brands. Including our own. The word is that they were making contracts with big brands, and even purchasing merchandise, but it wasn't going for sale on their racks at all. Instead they were buying in small quantities to copy the label, slap it on their own raggedy ass clothes and making a huge profit off of them."

"Well shit."

"Yeah. We weren't the only company hit with this realization. Your dad is planning to make a claim in the lawsuit. So we need those records."

"Got it." Adrien agreed, as he began unpacking a box just as Marinette walked in. His eyes lingered on her frame, as she rapidly spoke with Tikkie and began walking towards the small intern office. As always, she was beautiful, and today she had a kind of elegance to her as her long skirt waved through the invisible air.

He thought again about how she looked at the club and a strong feeling almost ate him up. He had to look away from her for a second to compose himself. He was getting tired of thinking this way. Maybe he needed to see a psychologist, a therapist, someone.

"Morning Adrien," she said softly, "So this is the main task for today?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Yup, this is it. We're playing detectives today." he said awkwardly.

Marinette looked around the room, putting her stuff down on the floor and sitting down quietly as Adrien handed her two stacks of paper.

Adrien didn't even need to ask.

He was back to square one with her.

Fucking square _one_.

 _AAAARRRRGGG, what the FUCK?!_ Adrien screamed in his own head as he smiled briefly at her.

They worked in silence for the better part of the morning, looking for any documents relating to Le Pont D'Or. They were able to find proof of sale, some refunds made, receipts, a list of inventory under their name, and all the good stuff. It had given Adrien time to think of all the questions he wanted to ask her, but he couldn't find a way to ask them without sounding hurt or judge-y. After 10am rolled around he sort of gave up trying to ask and just kept working in the silence they fell comfortable in.

He was opening the second box when all of a sudden:

"So I heard you made a friend last night. A girl names…?"

Adrien looked up quick enough to see Marinette retreat behind a piece of paper that didn't need that much examination. But he could see how red she was before she escaped his eye.

"Oh. Oh no… Uhm, no. I…"

He wanted to die before admitting how stupid he was last night but he knew that it'd be even worse if she thought him that kind of person. He wasn't a womanizer.

"No. To be honest I don't remember making any new friends last night. I.. I kind of … lost control… of… myself."

"Oh?"

"N-NOT THAT I DO. ALL THE TIME. I almost never get drunk. I'm sorry if I said mean things."

He knew from Nino that he in fact did not say much really, but he knew sometimes Nino left him to fend his own problems by himself.

"I see. No. No you didn't say anything mean. Did you at least have fun?"

He responded without thinking, "Not really." But the moment that the words left his lips his head went crazy with how she possibly might have taken those words. Not that he didn't have fun with her, but rather he kind of fucked that up himself. He drank way too much in too little time to be able to enjoy much.

He was about to explain when she replied with, "Yeah. I kind of agree."

 _What? She didn't have fun? Wasn't she like super happy before I arrived?_

"Oh? How come?"

The paper was already in the cleared box, so her blush was in full view, "Let's just say, it was fun in the moment but when reality crashed down it wasn't the best."

"Ah, I get it. I think. Kind of like, it seemed like a good idea in the moment but after the fact you realize it was a mistake kind of thing?"

 _So that blue hair guy wasn't so golden in the end, huh?_ He thought a little cruelly. And he knew it was cruel because her eyes looks like there was a storm raging and she didn't even know how to handle it. In that moment he wanted to reach out to her and comfort her in any way. He also wanted to punch himself for being selfish in a moment when she clearly wasn't feeling okay about something.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

Marinette turned to look at him and the full force of her ocean-colored eyes hit him like a tsunami.

"I'm not sure it's appropriate work discussion." She admitted quietly.

Adrien smiled at her, "Is it appropriate friend discussion?"

She gifted him with a small smile, "I don't even know how to answer that right now."

He chuckled, "Well, I want you to know I'm here to listen if that's all you need. I can be the blank wall you talk to."

This time she laughed, and Adrien's heart skipped enough beats to consider him medically deceased, "No! What the heck? This isn't an asylum!"

"Whaaaaat? I totally thought that's where we were!"

"It's about to become one if you two farts don't work more and talk less." Plagg interjected, standing at the door with his arms set akimbo and his scowl too real for the light of the conversation.

"Sorry boss. We're only on the third box. Two more to go." Adrien tried to soften the harsh leader.

"Whatever. Is this all you've been able to find so far?" Plagg grabbed a neat stack from the corner of the table.

"Yes sir." Marinette smiled. Plagg's eyes were sharp on her clearly judging her every inch. Marinette visibly shrank in her chair. Adrien would explain later that that was the scariest thing Plagg would ever do.

 _He's like a kitty, you pet him a certain way and he's you're little kitty forever,_ he remembered Tikkie telling him once. Adrien knew it to be true only until recently.

"Well okay. I'll get more boxes in here. Pierre! Move your ass, come pick up these boxes and put them…." he faded away into the office. Adrien shook his head and kept looking through the pages. After a while he looked up to see Marinette working frantically now.

"Woah Mari, you can slow down a little."

"W-What?"

"Don't take Plagg's seriousness to heart. The guy is a marshmallow. Why else do you think Tikkie is his wife?" Adrien chuckled.

Marinette blushed again, "It's not like I know Adrien. I just started here."

Adrien's smile softened and her grabbed her curled hand in a motion to soothe her, "That's why I'm here with you. To show you, no?"

She looked up at him, those eyes rearing their full effect again, "I really hope you don't regret saying what you just did later."

Adrien smiled, "Never."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Aaaaand we're back. From a silent hiatus that took about 7 months. (yup. I counted.)**

 **I have slowly been working on this chapter and reading the reviews sent to me. I have to say I didn't know how to respond to all of them, so I hope you understand. I'm not ignoring your comments, I'm just a shy little shot when it comes to interacting.**

 **I'd also like to mention, please drink responsibly. And I cannot stress this enough, _NEVER_ leave a friend alone in a club or bar or any place where drinking occurs.**

 **I know some readers weren't 100% thrilled with the ending of the last chapter and I understand. More is to come though, my fellow readers. And I hope I can bring this story to justice.**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for enjoying my story writing. I'll hopefully post again soon.**

 **Thank you,**

 **Purple Moon Monster**

 **P.S. I noticed I'm also making Adrien a bit of a pervert. Sorry?**

 **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**


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